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\MMIOAiI  BIBLE   SOCIETY 


1816-1866. 


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PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


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BV  2370 

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1867 

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Ferris , 

Isaac, 

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1873. 

Jubilee 

memoria 

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JUBILEE  MEMORIAL 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY: 


BEING  A  REVIEW  OF  ITS  FIRST  FIFTY  YEARS'  WORK. 


Prepared  by  appointment  of  the  Anniversary  Committee,  and  preached  in  parts, 
6th  May,  1866,  in  Presbyterian  Church  corner  19th  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue, 

/ 

BY   ISAAC   FERRIS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

CHANCELLOR     OF    THE     UNIVERSITY    OF    NEW    YORK     CITY. 


PRINTED   BY   VOTE    OF  THE  BOARD    OF  MANAGERS. 


NEW  YORK: 
AMERICAN  BIBLE   SOCIETY, 

BIBLE   HOUSE,   ASTOK  PLACE. 
1867. 


JUBILEE    MEMOEIAL 

OF   THE 

FIRST   FIFTY   YEARS 


OP   THE 


AMERICAN  BIBLE    SOCIETY 


How  intense  and  how  wide  spread  was  the  interest  of  the 
Jubilee  year  to  the  Jewish  people !  and  what  a  thrill  of  joy  per- 
vaded the  masses,  as  the  dawn  of  such  year  brought  with  it 
releases,  restorations — liberations — over  the  whole  land,  with 
all  the  attendant  blessings  connected  in  the  Divine  arrangement 
with  this  remarkable  season  ! 

It  is  not  precisely  such  a  year  we  enjoy;  but  ours  is  a  year 
of  joy  over  work  accomplished  ;  over  blessings  diffused  through 
a  vast  field  of  want ;  over  spiritual  emancipations  from  the  gall- 
ing yoke  of  sin ;  over  the  shedding  of  a  flood  of  heavenly  light 
on  the  sad  condition  of  millions  of  the  benighted,  and  furnish- 
ing to  men  ready  to  perish  the  means  of  relief.  And  what  has 
added  to  the  interest  of  our  Jubilee,  is  the  wonderful  and  long 
prayed  for  emancipation  of  millions  living  in  a  state  of  literal 
bondage  in  our  land,  and  the  removal  for  ever  of  the  yoke  of 
slavery,  which  has  distinguished  this  year. 

Its  coming  has  awakened  peculiar  feelings  among  our 
friends  over  the  land,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  note  by  what  appro- 
priate exercises  they  have  commemorated  the  happy  season. 
At  this  centre  of  operations,  it  has  been  our  privilege  to  hear 
from  the  lips  of  honoured  men,  representing  various  branches  of 
the  Christian  family  circle,  of  "  the  advantages  of  a  written  rev- 
elation"— of  "  the  purity  of  that  revelation" — of  "  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible" — of  "  the  human  and  divine  in  the  Bible" — 
of  "  the  Bible  and  Civil  government" — of  it  "  as  a  book  for 
mankind" — and  of  "  what  it  has  done  for  the  world  the  past 


b  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

century."  We  come  now  to  the  closing  exercises  of  the  con- 
templated series — which  is  intended  to  be  occupied  with  the 
work  done;  or,  a  historical  review  of  the  first  fifty  years  of 
our  great  National  Institution.  Though  this  be  not  a  field  for 
much  beside  the  statement  of  facts  (and  hence,  perhaps,  to  the 
general  hearer,  of  little  special  interest),  yet  from  that  circum- 
stance it  has  much  to  interest  every  friend  of  the  Bible  cause. 
The  business  aspect  of  such  a  great  movement  must  embrace 
matters  of  detail ;  and  these  illustrate  the  vitality,  the  power 
and  efficiency  of  the  Institution — its  adaptedness  for  the  great 
work  for  which  established ;  the  manner  in  which  it  has  real- 
ized the  hopes  of  its  founders ;  but  above  all,  the  wisdom  and 
beneficence  of  the  organization — and  clearly  prove  it  to  have 
occurred  in  the  fulness  of  time  and  under  the  Divine  auspices. 

It  is  recorded,  that  at  the  time  of  the  organization  an  em- 
phatic voice  from  the  midst  of  the  attending  audience  cried  out 
aloud  :  "  This  is  none  other  than  the  work  of  the  Lord."  That 
which  was  said  then  has  been  often  repeated ;  for  every  step  of 
our  advance  shows  the  Divine  hand  which  laid  the  foundation ; 
and  this,  it  is  thought,  we  shall  see  on  the  present  occasion. 

The  want  of  a  supply  of  Bibles  was  deeply  and  widely  felt 
in  the  earlier  days  of  our  republic,  in  the  midst  of  its  struggle 
for  national  life,  and  various  remedial  measures  were  adopted. 
It  is  a  striking  circumstance,  that  while  our  fathers  were  press- 
ed with  the  burdens  and  hardships  of  war,  they  felt  the  need  of 
the  Bible,  and  sought  to  have  the  people  supplied  with  this  best 
of  guides  and  comforters,  and  this  safest  of  instructors  on  their 
rights  and  their  duties.  What  a  lesson  to  their  descendants ! 
In  1777  a  memorial  came  before  the  Congress  of  the  Revolution 
(which  had  adopted  the  Declaration  of  Independence),  seeking 
such  relief  of  the  public  want  at  their  hands  as  their  wisdom 
might  devise.  The  application  was  not  flouted  at,  as  if  we  were 
a  nation  without  a  religion,  but  proper  attention  was  given  to 
it,  and  a  reference  was  made  of  the  subject  to  a  committee,  who, 
while  they  could  not  provide  for  the  printing,  recommended 
that  the  government  take  immediate  measures  to  secure  20,000 
copies  from  Holland,  Scotland,  or  elsewhere,  at  the  expense  of 
Congress. 


JUBILEE   MEMORIAL.  i 

In  17S1 — as,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  the  English  Bibles 
could  not  be  imported,  and  when  none  could  tell  how  long  the 
war  might  last — on  another  memorial,  a  committee  reported 
a  recommendation  of  a  Bible  printed  by  Robert  Aitken  in  Phil- 
adelphia ;  on  which,  the  resolution  in  the  following  ever  mem- 
orable words  was  adopted  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  highly  approve 
the  pious  and  laudable  undertaking  of  Mr.  Aitken,  as  subservient  to  the  inter- 
ests of  religion;  and  being  satisfied  of  the  care  and  accuracy  of  the  execution 
of  the  work,  recommend  this  edition  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States." 

As  one  well  says,  "What  moral  sublimity  in  this  fact, 
as  it  stands  imperishably  recorded  and  filed  in  the  national 
archives ! — the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States  assum- 
ing the  rights  and  performing  the  duties  of  a  Bible  so- 
ciety, long  oefore  such  an  institution  had  an  existence  in  the 
world!  /" 

It  was  in  1804  when  that  grand  and  most  memorable  event 
took  place,  the  organization  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  concerning  which  our  first  Secretary,  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  said  it  was  "  ten  thousand  times  more  glorious  than  all 
the  exploits  of  the  sword ;"  and  of  which  Dr.  Spring  has  since 
said,  "Old  England  has  no  brighter  jewel  in  her  crown."  The 
Christian  world  joins  to-day  in  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the 
worldwide  blessings  it  has  diffused  and  is  diffusing.  We  are 
happy  that  her  representatives  are  with  us  to-day,  to  participate 
in  our  joy,  while  they  bring  her  most  cordial  greeting,  and  that 
among  them  is  the  countryman  of  him  whose  earnest  appeal  for 
the  Scriptures  for  the  Sunday  schools  and  the  destitute  in  the 
principality  of  Wales,  in  1802,  first  moved  the  British  heart  to 
the  great  work  which  has  been  accomplished. 

The  Bible-diffusion  spirit  was  developed  early  in  this  cen- 
tury in  this  country,  and  with  great  rapidity  after  the  British 
movement.  The  first  organization  was  that  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1808  ;  the  second,  that  of  the  Connecticut  State  Society  in  May, 
1809 ;  the  third,  that  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  in  July, 
1809 ;  the  fourth,  that  of  the  New  Jersey  Society  late  in  the 
same  year ;  and  the  fifth,  that  of  the  New  York  (City)  Society 
in  1810.     At  the  commencement  of  1816  there  were  one  hund- 


JUBILEE     MEMORIAL. 


red  and  thirty-two  societies  in  our  country,  each  independent  in 
its  work  and  entirely  local ;  classified  thus : 


In  New  Hampshire.  .  2 

Massachusetts ...  9 

Rhode  Island ....  2 

Connecticut 2 

Vermont 12 

New  York 35 

New  Jersey 7 


In  Pennsylvania.  ...  15 

Delaware 1 

Maryland 5 

Dist.  Columbia  .  .  1 

Virginia 12 

North  Carolina  .  .  1 

South  Carolina.  .  .  2 


In  Georgia 1 

Ohio 7 

Kentucky 3 

Tennessee 1 

Louisiana 1 

Mississippi 1 

Indiana 12 


Besides  these,  there  were  numerous  Bible  associations. 

The  supply  of  the  destitution  within  their  own  range  was  all 
that  these  societies  aimed  at,  and  this  was  very  imperfectly  met. 
It  is  matter  of  history,  that  the  Christian  heart  of  our  own  coun- 
try was  first  effectively  moved  in  behalf  of  the  multitudes  per- 
ishing in  the  newly  and  sparsely  settled  West  and  South-west, 
through  the  agency  of  one  of  the  devoted  band  of  young  men 
who,  in  the  shadow  of  the  haystack  in  the  meadow  near  Wil- 
liams College,  planned  the  Foreign  Missionary  movement  (and 
gave  themselves  to  it),  whose  results  have  been  most  blessed. 
Samuel  J.  Mills,  whom  we  refer  to,  having  completed  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  the  Andover  Seminary  in  1812,  was  moved,  in 
his  large  benevolence,  at  once  to  undertake  a  tour  of  investiga- 
tion into  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  western  and  southern 
parts  of  the  land.  He  made  two  tours — the  first  in  1812  and 
1813,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  John  F.  Schermerhorn,  a  minister 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  ;  the  second  in  1814  and  1815,  in 
company  with  Rev.  Daniel  Smith,  of  the  Congregational  Church. 
The  correspondence  which  followed,  and  the  report  which  was 
given  to  the  public,  of  "the  nakedness  of  the  land,"  as  regarded 
the  supply  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  awakened  the  deepest  feeling. 
Mr.  Mills,  on  his  return  North,  visited  various  cities,  and  pleaded 
the  cause  of  the  destitute  with  influential  laymen  as  well  as  minis- 
ters at  the  most  important  centres.  Very  earnest  appeals  were 
made  in  the  Panoplist  (a  religious  monthly  published  at  Andover, 
Mass.),  at  the  same  time,  in  behalf  of  a  union  of  effort  in  what 
could  only  be  done  by  such  co-operation  ;  while  at  the  same  time 
urgent  exhortations  to  the  same  effect  came  from  England,  with 
most  glowing  accounts  of  the  success  of  the  work  in  the  fatherland.* 

*  See  Appendix '(A.) 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  9 

Early  in  1816  the  practicability  of  a  great  catholic  union  was 
illustrated  by  the  organization  of  two  Sunday  school  Unions  in 
the  city  of  New  York — one,  in  January,  of  Christian  ladies  of 
six  or  more  denominations,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Divie 
Bethune,  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Isabella  Graham ;  the  other  of 
gentlemen,  in  February,  on  the  same  catholic  ground,  through 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Eleazar  Lord. 

The  excellent  Elias  Boudinot,  then  president  of  the  New 
Jersey  Bible  Society,  made  a  public  communication  about  this 
date  in  favour  of  a  national  Bible  movement.  The  New  York 
Bible  Society  was  the  first  to  follow  it  with  formal  action, 
early  in  #the  same  year,  in  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolu- 
tions : 

"  1 .  That  it  is  highly  desirable  to  obtain,  upon  as  large  a  scale  as  possible^ 
a  co-operation  of  the  efforts  of  the  Christian  community  throughout  the  United 
States  for  the  efficient  distribution  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

u  2.  That  as  a  means  for  the  attainment  of  this  end,  it  will  be  expedient  to 
have  a  convention  o^  delegates  from  such  Bible  societies  as  shall  be  disposed  to 
concur  in  this  measure,  to  meet  at  on  the  day  of 

next,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  whether  such  a  co-operation  may  be  effected 
in  a  better  manner  than  by  the  correspondence  of  the  different  societies,  as  now 
established ;  and  if  so,  that  they  prepare  the  draft  of  a  plan  for  such  co-opera- 
tion, to  be  submitted  to  the  different  societies  for  their  decision." 

These  resolutions  were  transmitted  to  the  president  of  the 
New  Jersey  Bible  Society,  to  be  brought  before  the  public  if 
deemed  proper. 

It  was  on  the  17th  of  January,  1816,  that  Mr.  Boudinot,  then 
a  resident  of  Burlington,  N.  J.,  issued  a  call,  in  which  he  uses 
this  language : 

"  After  mature  deliberation,  and  Consulting  with  judicious  friends  on  this 
subject,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  most  suitable  place  for  the  proposed 
meeting  is  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  most  convenient  time  the  second 
Wednesday  of  May  next,  and  I  do  appoint  and  recommend  the  said  meeting  to 
be  held  at  that  time  and  place." 

The  Convention  accordingly  assembled  in  New  York  on  the 
8th  of  May,  1816,  in  the  consistory  or  lecture  room  of  the  Col- 
legiate Dutch  Church,  then  in  Garden  Street  (where  now  stand 
Nos.  50,  52  Exchange  Place),  under  the  same  auspices  which 
have  furnished  a  place  for  and  established  the  Fulton  Street 


10  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

Prayer  Meeting  of  our  own  time,  of  such  blessed  memory  over 
the  Christian  world. 

The  Convention  was  composed  of  sixty  members,  who  repre- 
sented twenty-eight  Bible  societies,  and  were  of  the  Congrega- 
tional, the  Presbyterian,  the  Protestant  Episcopal,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch,  the  Baptist  churches, 
and  the  Society  of  Friends ;  and  from  various  sections  of  our 
country,  east,  middle,  southern,  and  western. 

They  were  men  of  character  and  of  position,  every  where 
looked  up  to  with  respect  and  confidence — appreciating  deeply 
the  responsibility  of  their  place — entering  fully  into  the  work  for 
which  they  were  convened,  and  taking  large  views  of  the  results 
likely  to  flow  from  their  action — realizing  vividly  the  import- 
ance of  a  truly  catholic  action.  The  feeling  of  interest  in  their 
deliberations  beyond  their  circle  was  intense,  and  was  expressed 
at  the  mercy  seat  in  earnest  prayer  that  the  Divine  Spirit  would 
be  their  guide,  in  meetings  over  our  whole  country.  The  occa- 
sion was  momentous,  the  scene  most  solemn.  The  interchange 
was  free  and  fraternal.  Differences  there  were,  as  was  to  be 
expected  in  so  novel  a  movement ;  but  they  were  happily  ad- 
justed, and  the  result  was  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  pre- 
pared by  their  own  committee,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  the 
full  organization  by  the  choice  of  a  Board  of  Managers,  and 
subsequently  of  the  officers,  according  to  the  Constitution,  at  the 
head  of  whom  was  placed  the  venerable  man  whose  call  had 
convened  them,  and  who  regarded  the  whole  action  as  the  most 
blessed  event  of  his  long  life.* 

Well  might  the  venerable  men  who  took  part  in  these  pro- 
ceedings look  back  with  gratitude  on  the  work  done,  and  rejoice 
in  it  in  their  departing  moments.  They  performed  a  good  serv- 
ice for  us  and  for  all  coming  after  us,  as  they  erected  a  platform 
on  which  we  may  all  stand  in  love  and  harmony,  from  whatever 
tribe  of  the  Christian  Israel  we  come,  and  may  work  in  unison 
for  the  highest  good  of  our  common  humanity,  and  prepare  for 
a  more  blessed  co-operation  and  union  in  higher  services  in  a 
better  world.  How  appropriate  and  how  noble  the  sentiments 
expressed  in  the  address  to  the  country  ! — "  JSTo  spectacle  can  be 

*  See  Appendix  (B.) 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  11 

so  illustrious  in  itself,  so  touching  to  man,  or  so  grateful  to  God, 
as  a  nation  pouring  forth  its  devotion,  its  talent,  and  its  treas- 
ures, for  that  kingdom  of  the  Saviour  which  is  righteousness 
and  peace."  All  Bible-loving  hearts  throughout  the  country 
were  looking  anxiously  for  the  final  action  ;  and  when  it  came, 
there  ascended  the  sweet  incense  of  praise  from  many  an  altar, 
and  soon  there  followed  large  accessions  of  auxiliaries  from  all 
quarters  of  our  land.  Thus,  the  period  from  the  8th  to  the  11th  of 
May  inclusive,  1816,  has  become  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  and  of  the  world,  as  opening  an  era  for  good 
whose  range  only  the  revelations  of  the  last  day  can  fully  exhibit. 
Fifty  years  have  now  completed  their  rapid  flight  since  that 
memorable  occasion,  and  we  have  come  together  to  "  remember 
all  the  way  which  the  Lord  our  God  has  led  us." 

I  have  assumed  that  my  hearers  would  desire  me  to  submit 
to  them  a  view  of  the  principles  which  from  the  first  have  gov- 
erned, and  still  govern,  this  great  National  Institution  •  of  the 
work  which  has  been  accomplished  /  and  of  the  agencies  and 
auspices  securing  these  grand  results  under  God  ;  and  what  are 
the  prospects  for  the  period  to  the  portals  of  which  a  gracious 
Providence  has  brought  us. 

According  to  this  natural  and  just  expectation,  I  have 
arranged  the  facts  I  have  to  submit ;  and  yet  I  am  deeply  con- 
scious that  the  work  has  been  of  such  vast  dimensions,  and  the 
interesting  details  so  numerous,  that  I  can  furnish  mainly  sum- 
mary statements  in  the  time  allowed  for  such  an  exercise. 
My  topics  are  these,  viz. : 

I.  The  Principles  which  have  governed  and  still  govern  our 
proceedings. 

II.  The  Work  which  has  been  accomplished. 

III.  The  Instrumentalities  and  Co-operating  Agencies  which 
have  been  enjoyed. 

TV.  The  Prospects  which  at  this  point  open  upon  us. 

I.  The  principles  by  which  we  have  been  and  are  still 

GOVERNED   IN    OUR   WORK. 

Let  me  give  these  in  the  simplest  form  of  statement. 
1.  That  which  is  fundamental  and  primary  is,  that  the  Bible 
is  a  most  precious  boon  to  our  race. 


12  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

It  is  a  most  remarkable  book,  and  acknowledged  to  be  such 
by  the  ingenuous  infidel  himself.  We  join  with  the  historian, 
the  rhetorician,  the  poet,  the  painter,  and  the  philosopher,  in 
admiration  of  this  volume  as  the  treasury  of  what  each  prizes 
highly  in  his  special  department  ;*  but  that  on  which  we  fix  as 
making  it  the  most  precious  boon  to  mankind,  is,  that  it  is  the 
revelation  of  a  Divine  'provision  for  the  moral  exigencies  of  our 
race. 

Two  passages  of  the  Sacred  Volume  sum  up  the  whole : 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners, of  whom  I  am  chief." 

Man  is  guilty,  and  the  curse  is  on  him;  and  destined  as  he 
is  to  another,  an  eternal  state  of  existence,  if  he  remain  as  he  is 
morally  and  spiritually,  that  curse  will  abide  on  him  for  ever. 
Hence,  the  most  momentous  of  all  questions  are :  how  shall  he 
obtain  pardon  %  how  shall  the  curse  be  removed  ?  how  shall  his 
immortal  state  be  made  one  of  joy  ?  how  shall  he  be  fitted  for  it 
and  instated  in  it  ?  The  vital  value  of  the  Bible  is  in  its  answer 
to  these  questions ;  and  here  is  the  key  to  all  we  have  done  and 
would  do  for  its  multiplication  and  diffusion.  Can  any  thing 
else  so  worthily  occupy  the  first  place  in  our  affections,  or  more 
appropriately  command  all  our  energies  and  labours  ?  In  man's 
hopelessness,  God  has  undertaken  for  him  ;  He  "  has  given  his 
only  begotten  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  "  He  who  knew 
no  sin  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made  the  right- 
eousness  of  God  in  him."  "  He  suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  he  might  bring  us  to  God."  "  With  him  is  forgiveness  of 
sins  and  plenteous  redemption."  "He  bore  our  sins  in  his  own 
body."  "  He  purged  our  sins  by  his  own  blood  ;"  "  and  him 
hath  God  exalted  with  his  right  hand,  to  be  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour ;  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins." 
"  There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ." 

*  See  Eclectic  Magazine  for  July,  1865. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  13 

"  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Is  there  any  thing  in  the  whole  range  of  objects  which 
occupy  the  human  mind,  or  gain  the  human  heart,  to  be  com- 
pared with  this? 

But  this  is  not  all.  Suppose  the  guilt  be  removed  ;  man  is 
unholy ;  his  heart  is  the  seat  of  low  and  vile  affections.  Unless 
he  be  cleansed,  he  is  unfitted  for  fellowship  with  a  holy  God,  or 
to  enter  a  holy  heaven.  The  Divine  provision  meets  this  aspect 
of  the  case ;  for  "  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 
"  God  according  to  his  mercy  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of 
regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  the  Divine 
economy,  it  is  this  Holy  Ghost  who  awakens,  enlightens,  takes 
away  the  stony  heart,  subdues  the  pride,  implants  holy  princi- 
ples in  the  heart,  quickens  the  soul  to  the  exercise  of  pure  affec- 
tions, and  makes  the  new  creature.  Thus  begins  the  meetness 
for  the  fellowship  with  all  holy  beings  and  for  the  coming  glory. 
Thu6  the  blessed  Volume  presents  the  good  work,  which  shall 
be  carried  forward  through  the  life  journey,  and  it  assures  us 
that  God  is  more  ready  to  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  Him  than  parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children. 
What  can  come  with  sweeter  power  to  the  soul  struggling  with 
sin  than  this  ? 

Nor  is  this  all.  Man  is  an  infirm  creature ;  he  is  utterly 
insufficient  to  make  his  wTay  onward.  The  good  word  for  him, 
accordingly,  is :  "  If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God, 
who  giveth  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not."  "I  will  guide  thee 
with  mine  eye."  "  As  for  the  upright,  he  directeth  his  way." 
"To  the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  the  darkness."  The  broad 
promise  is :  "I  will  bring  the  blind  by  a  way  that  they  knew 
not ;  I  will  lead  them  in  paths  that  they  have  not  known  :  I  will 
make  darkness  light  before  them,  and  crooked  things  straight. 
These  things  will  I  do  unto  them,  and  not  forsake  them,"  saith 
the  Lord.  Is  man  a  feeble  creature,  unable  to  cope  success- 
fully with  the  evils,  and  temptations,  and  adverse  influences 
which  are  to  be  encountered  %  The  provision  is :  "I  will  never 
leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee  ;"  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee ;" 
"  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness ;"  "  As  thy  days,  so 


14  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

shall  thy  strength  be."  So  that  he  may  go  on  cheerily  singing : 
"  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want :  yea,  though  I 
walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no 
evil :  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 
"  The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me." 

Nor  is  this  all.  Man  is  poor  and  miserable ;  he  can  bring 
no  price  ;  personal  macerations  will  be  nothing,  pilgrimages  will 
be  nothing — all  manner  of  penances  will  be  nothing.  But  the 
heavenly  provision  is  brought  down  most  happily  to  his  circum- 
stances^— all  is  the  gift  of  infinite  love:  "God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son ;"  "  and  with  him," 
the  greatest  gift,  "  shall  he  not  freely  give  us  all  things  ?"  for 
these  are  to  Him  the  smaller  gifts. 

What  a  boon  is  this  precious  Volume !  revealing  a  provision 
covering  all  wants,  meeting  all  exigencies,  spreading  over  all 
time — all  tendered  to  the  guilty,  the  polluted,  the  erring,  the 
wretched — of  all  times  and  nations — without  money  and  with- 
out price.     This  is  our  primary  principle. 

2.  The  second  is  this :  that  it  is  God's  purpose  that  this  boon 
should  be  given  to  every  creature.  If  we  have  examined  Dr. 
Paley's  beautiful  argument  showing  design  from  intelligent  adapt- 
ation, we  cannot  but  have  felt  it  to  be  irresistible,  as  much  so  as 
if  uttered  by  an  audible  voice  from  heaven.  It  is  so  here ;  there 
is  no  chance  in  the  wonderful  adaptations  of  the  Book  God  has 
given  us.  There  is  a  purpose  in  its  whole,  and  in  its  parts 
and  its  every  provision.  He  who  knew  what  man  needed  has 
formed  it  to  meet  his  case.  It  is  clearly  for  man  every  where, 
for  he  is  every  where  the  same  guilty,  the  same  helpless,  the 
same  polluted,  self-destroyed  sinner.  It  matters  not  what  his 
temporal  condition  may  be,  nor  in  what  clime  he  lives,  nor  what 
his  relations  may  be — opening  this  Book,  he  finds  it  a  book  for 
him ;  exposing  his  heart,  arraigning  him  at  the  bar,  warning 
him  of  his  danger,  insulating  him  in  the  crowd  around  him, 
holding  him  firmly  to  his  duty ;  seemingly  written  for  him 
specially,  and  fastening  its  arrow  in  his  heart.  Nothing  from 
human  pen  is  fitted  to  be  so  universally  a  blessing.  How  can 
we  but  conclude  it  was  intended  to  be  such — to  go  forth  as  the 
light,  the  joy,  and  the  life  of  the  world  ?     The  pious  heart  rejects 


JUBILEE     MEMORIAL. 


15 


with  horror  as  a  blasphemy  that  it  could  have  been  made  to  be 
the  book  of  only  a  class,  or  a  nation,  or  an  age.  It  is  the  Book 
of  the  race. 

Besides,  how  clearly  is  this  contemplated  in  the  Volume 
itself!  Did  not  the  command  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature  carry  with  it  the  written  word,  as  well  as  the  oral 
communication,  in  the  necessities  of  the  case?  Did  not  our 
blessed  Lord  have  this  in  his  mind  when  he  said,  "Where- 
soever this  Gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there 
shall  also  this,  that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memo- 
rial of  her?"  Did  Luke  write  only  for  his  most  excellent 
Theophilus  ?  Did  not  all  Christians  of  the  early  ages  so  under- 
stand it,  as  they  multiplied  copies  as  far  as  their  circumstances 
allowed  ?  Did  not  the  enemies  of  Christianity  so  understand 
and  fear  it,  as  they  sought  to  make  Christians  give  up  the 
sacred  books  that  they  might  be  burned  %  Yes  ;  the  answer  to 
the  inquiry,  What  was  the  Divine  purpose  ?  is  found  in  the  use 
God  has  been  pleased  to  make  of  it — in  the  remarkable  efficien- 
cy He  has  given  to  it.  Where  can  we  look,  as  we  trace  the 
diffusion  of  the  Sacred  Word,  that  we  do  not  see  it  made  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  ?  The  promise  long  since  given 
was :  "  My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  shall  accom- 
plish that,  whereto  I  sent  it."  Through  this  the  blind  eyes  are 
opened,  the  deaf  ears  are  unstopped,  the  hard  heart  is  melted, 
the  life  is  reformed,  the  lost  one  is  recovered,  the  dead  one  is 
brought  to  newness  of  life,  the  servant  of  sin  becomes  a  child  of 
God,  the  outcast  is  made  the  heir  of  "  an  inheritance  incorrupt- 
ible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not."  The  Christian  heart  is 
filled  with  adoring  gratitude,  as  it  notes  how  these  blessings 
confirmatory  of  his  will  and  desire  are  multiplied  in  our  day. 
We  are  constrained  to  say,  How  wonderfully  God  works ! 

3.  Another  grand  principle  governing  our  action  is,  "  that 
this  precious  boon  should  be  given  to  men  in  its  integrity  and 
purity?  It  is,  as  it  is  in  its  parts  and  as  a  whole,  God's  Book  ; 
and  the  responsibility  is  most  solemn  to  give  it  as  God  has  given 
it.  Modifications,  additions,  diminutions,  destroy  this  charac- 
ter. The  reasoning  here  is  very  simple.  We  owe  it  to  God  to 
preserve  and  diffuse  it  in  its  integrity.    His  honour,  his  truth,  his 


16  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

purposes  concerning  it,  are  all  involved  here.  If  we  give  what 
IJe  has  not  given — if  we  teach  what  He  has  not  taught — if  we 
claim  as  his  what  He  has  not  authorized,  we  deceive  at  the 
expense  of  his  glory  and  honour;  we  place  ourselves  under  the 
condemnation  of  the  false  prophets.  On  the  other  hand,  we  owe 
it  to  our  fellow  men  to  maintain  its  integrity.  Their  clearest 
interests  are  involved  here.  Can  we  conceive  of  any  thing 
more  horrible  than  to  delude  by  giving  to  the  guilty  and  the 
dying,  as  coming  from  their  Maker,  what  is  human — pledging 
Him  to  what  He  has  not  warranted — raising  hopes  He  has  never 
encouraged — sending  them  to  his  bar  with  a  falsified  record  ? 
How  could  they  guilty  of  such  a  course  meet  God  in  the  judg- 
ment, or  meet  their  fellow  men  at  his  bar  ?  Will  any  visitation 
be  too  heavy  for  those  who  are  unfaithful  in  such  circumstances  ? 
Those  are  fearful  words  with  which  the  Sacred  Volume  closes : 
"  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add  unto 
him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book :  and  if  any  man 
shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy, 
God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of 
the  holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this 
book."  It  is  true  the  reference  is  here  specifically  to  John's 
prophecy,  yet  the  reason  for  it  applies  to  all  which  God  has 
spoken. 

4.  A  fourth  principle  is  this :  this  blessed  boon  must,  by 
price  and  gift,  he  brought  within  the  range  and  circumstances 
of  all. 

Remembering  how  various  are  the  conditions  of  men,  how 
vast  the  proportion  unable  to  buy,  how  multitudinous  the  youth 
whom  especially  we  should  seek  to  guide  into  the  path  of  truth 
by  an  infallible  light,  how  would  any  other  policy  have  become 
us,  if  our  aim  was  to  confer  the  greatest  blessings  on  the  great- 
est number  ?  This  is  and  has  been  our  ground.  The  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  is  strictly  a  benevolent  Institution.  It  manu- 
factures and  disposes  of  the  Scriptures,  in  no  case  for  the  sake 
of  profit,  but  solely  for  a  philanthropic  and  Christian  object. 
The  Society  owes  its  origin  not  only  to  the  desire  of  cheapening 
the  Scriptures,  so  as  to  bring  them  within  the  reach  of  all  classes 
of  persons  who  possess  ability  to  purchase  them,  but  also  to 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  17 

the  desire  of  carrying  the  Scriptures  into  retired  and  destitute 
parts  of  the  country,  where  they  otherwise  never  would  have 
been  carried ;  so  that  all  descriptions  of  persons  and  all  varie- 
ties of  households  might  become  possessed  of  them  by  purchase 
or  by  gift.  In  all  cases,  where  the  Society  sells  the  Scriptures, 
it  does  so  at  simple  cost;  and  in  all  cases,  where  individuals  are 
destitute,  and  at  the  same  time  are  either  unable  or  unwilling  to 
purchase,  it  furnishes  them  "without  money  and  without  price." 
5.  The  last  principle  governing  us  which  I  mention  is,  that 
we  have  been,  and  are  in  our  work  only  stewards  and  almoners 
for  others.  While  our  post  is  one  of  honour  and  high  privilege, 
it  is  one  of  great  responsibility.  "We  are,  in  all  this,  in  trust  for 
all  those  who  seek  by  our  hands  to  give  the  "Word  of  Life  to  the 
benighted  and  the  perishing.  We  are  occupants  of  a  peculiarly 
solemn  position.  All  our  distinctions  are  merged  in  that  high- 
est of  all — we  are  Bible  men.  Away  from  this  association  we 
may  belong  to  the  various  tribes  of  the  Christian  Israel,  but 
here  we  are  one  in  our  work,  in  our  aim,  in  our  desire.  On 
broad  Bible  ground  we  plant  ourselves,  and  for  simple  Bible 
ends  we  labour.  The  living  look  to  us  as  their  agents,  and  com- 
mit to  us  their  liberal  gifts.  As  such,  the  widow  sends  her  mite, 
and  the  new  convert  his  consecration  thank  offering ;  and  the 
churches  give,  some  in  their  poverty  and  others  of  their  abund- 
ance. But  how  does  this  stewardship  rise  in  the  solemnity  of 
its  character,  as  we  think  of  the  pious  dead !  Among  the  last 
acts  of  life,  ere  they  passed  away  to  their  rest,  they  remembered 
the  preciousness  of  God's  Word,  and  they  could  say,  "  Thy  stat- 
utes have  been  my  songs  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage,"  and 
they  recalled  how  many  are  without  it;  they  placed  in  our 
hands  the  means  of  making  such  happy  also — of  widening  to 
the  world's  circumference  the  circle  of  human  comfort  and  bless- 
edness by  their  testamentary  acts.  Every  month  there  comes 
to  us  some  touching  memento  of  their  regard  for  the  Bible,  and 
new  proof  of  their  confidence  in  our  work.  It  is  required  of 
the  steward  that  he  be  faithful ;  especially  in  the  stewardship  of 
the  mercies  of  God  should  it  be  so.  We  cannot  but  heed  the 
voice  coming  to  us  from  our  hosts  of  living  benefactors,  of  all 
Christian  names  and  interests  ;  especially  can  we  not  be  heedless 


18  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

to  the  monition  coming  from  the  tomb  of  the  deceased — "  Be  ye 
faithful." 

With  this  rapid  review  of  principles,  we  pass — 

II.  To  a  consideration  of  the  work  accomplished.  Clear- 
ness of  presentation  leads  us  to  notice  here  two  aspects 
of  the  work,  viz.,  production  and  distribution',  the  former 
embracing  the  versions  or  translations  produced  in  the  English 
and  in  other  tongues ;  the  latter,  the  diffusion  over  the  home 
and  the  foreign  field. 

1.  Our  work  has  had  to  do  with  the  English  version, 
"  that  grand  old  version,"  as  some  one  enthusiastically  and 
truly  calls  it.  In  speaking  particularly  of  this,  I  will  avail 
myself  of  the  statements  made  by  the  Committee  of  revision 
in  their  report,  printed  1851  : 

Besides  the  translation  of  Wickliffe,  completed  about  A.D.  1380,  but  exist- 
ing until  quite  recently  only  in  manuscript,  six  Protestant  English  versions 
had  been  printed  and  circulated,  anterior  to  the  one  now  in  use. 

The  earliest  published  English  Bible  was  that  of  Tyndale.  The  New  Test- 
ament was  printed  in  Holland,  in  1526,  and  several  times  afterwards;  the 
Pentateuch  at  Hamburg  in  1530.  This  version  was  followed  in  1535  by 
CoverdaWs  translation  of  the  whole  Bible ;  which  was  twice  republished,  in 
1550  and  1553.  Matthew's  Bible,  so  called,  was  printed  in  1537.  in  Hamburg 
or  some  other  part  of  Germany.  The  name  Thomas  Matthew  is  understood 
to  be  fictitious  ;  and  the  work  seems  to  have  been  mainly  made  up  from  the 
translations  of  Tyndale  and  Coverdale.  According  to  some,  the  real  editor 
was  the  martyr  John  Rogers. 

In  1539  was  published  Crammer's  or  the  Great  Bible,  in  folio,  printed  at 
London  by  Grafton  and  Whitchurch,  king's  printers;  and  hence  sometimes 
known  also  as  Whitchurch's  Bible.  This  was  a  revision  of  Matthew's  version  ; 
and  measures  were  taken  to  have  it  kept  in  the  churches  and  publicly  read. 
Other  editions  appeared  in  1540. 

The  Geneva  Bible,  so  called,  was  translated  at  Geneva  by  English  scholars, 
who  had  taken  refuge  there  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary.  The  New  Test- 
ament was  printed  at  Geneva  in  1557;  and  the  whole  Bible  in  1560.  This 
version  was  reprinted  at  London  in  1572,  and  often  afterwards. 

In  1568  appeared  the  Bishops'  Bible,  so  called,  in  folio.  It  was  a  revision 
of  Cranmer's  or  the  Great  Bible,  by  archbishop  Parker  and  other  bishops ;  and 
took  the  place  of  Cranmer's  Bible  as  the  authorized  English  version. 

At  the  accession  of  king  James  I.,  in  1603,  the  two  versions  last  named,  the 
Bishops'  Bible  and  the  Geneva  Bible,  were  those  mainly  in  use  in  England  ; 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  19 

the  former  authorized  to  be  publicly  read  in  the  churches,  and  the  latter  mostly 
used  in  private  families. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  present  translation  was  the  celebrated 
Hampton  Court  Conference,  held  before  the  king,  Jan.  12th,  1604.  On  the 
second  day,  Dr.  Reynolds,  the  leader  of  the  Puritans,  proposed  to  the  king  that 
there  should  be  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible,  because  of  the  imperfections  of 
the  former  versions.  The  king  entertained  the  proposal ;  with  the  understand- 
ing, that  the  new  version  should  "  last  of  all  be  ratified  by  his  royal  authority, 
and  so  the  whole  church  be  bound  to  this  translation,  and  not  to  use  any 
other."  Accordingly,  before  the  middle  of  the  same  year,  1604,  the  king  com- 
missioned a  large  number  of  scholars  of  both  the  Universities  and  elsewhere 
to  meet,  and  consult  together,  in  order  to  make  a  new  and  more  correct  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible.  These  were  divided  into  six  classes,  comprising  forty-seven 
persons,  whose  names  are  given;  who  were  to  meet  at  Westminster,  Cambridge, 
and  Oxford,  two  classes  in  each  place.  The  original  Scriptures,  including  the 
Apocrypha,  were  in  like  manner  divided  into  six  portions ;  one  of  which  was 
assigned  to  each  class  for  translation.  Certain  rules,  prescribed  by  the  king, 
were  transmitted  to  the  translators  by  the  bishop  of  London,  at  midsummer, 
1604.  Among  these  the  following  serve  to  mark  definitely  the  character  of  the 
translation  and  the  manner  of  proceeding : 

"  1.  The  ordinary  Bible  read  in  the  Church,  commonly  called  The  Bishops' 
Bible,  to  be  followed,  and  as  little  altered  as  the  original  will  permit. 

"  14.  These  translations  to  be  used  when  they  agree  better  with  the  text 
than  the  Bishops'  Bible,  viz.,  TyndaWs,  CoverdaWs,  Matthew 's}  Whitchurch' 's} 
[i.  c.  Cranmer's^  Geneva. 

11  6.  No  marginal  notes  at  all  to  be  affixed,  but  only  for  the  explanation  of 
the  Hebrew  or  Greek  words,  which  cannot,  without  some  circumlocution,  so 
briefly  and  fitly  be  expressed  in  the  text. 

':  7.  Such  quotations  of  places  to  be  marginally  set  down,  as  shall  serve  for 
the  fit  references  of  one  Scripture  to  another. 

"  8.  Every  particular  man  of  each  company  to  take  the  same  chapter  or 
chapters  :  and,  having  translated  or  amended  them  severally  by  himself  where 
he  thinks  good,  all  to  meet  together,  to  confer  what  they  have  done,  and  agree 
for  their  part  what  shall  stand. 

"  9.  As  any  one  company  hath  dispatched  any  one  book  in  this  man- 
ner, they  shall  send  it  to  the  rest,  to  be  considered  of  seriously  and  judi- 
ciously." 

Besides  these  forty-seven  translators,  it  appears  that  "  three  or  four  of  the 
most  eminent  and  grave  divines  of  each  university  "  were  appointed  to  be  over- 
seers of  the  translations ;  and  these  with  the  others  probably  made  up  the 
number  of  fifty -four  mentioned  in  the  king's  letter  of  July  22d,  1604. 

After  the  work  was  actually  commenced,  more  than  three  years,  or,  as  the 
original  Preface  has  it,  "  twice  seven  times  seventy-two  days  and  more,"  were 


20  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

spent  by  the  several  companies  in  completing  the  first  draft  of  the  new 
version.  When  thus  far  finished,  three  copies  of  the  whole  Bible  were  sent  to 
London ;  one  from  Cambridge,  one  from  Oxford,  and  one  from  Westminster. 
From  the  companies  in  these  several  places,  two  persons  were  now  selected 
from  each  place,  six  in  all,  who  met  in  London  to  review  the  whole  work,  and 
prepare  one  copy  from  the  three,  to  be  committed  to  the  press.  Their  labours 
extended  through  three  quarters  of  a  year.  "  Last  of  all,  Bilson,  bishop  of 
Winchester,  and  Dr.  Myles  Smith,  afterwards  bishop  of  Gloucester,  again 
reviewed  the  whole  work,  and  prefixed  arguments  to  the  several  books;"  by 
which  "arguments"  are  probably  intended  the  contents  of  the  chapters, 
etc.  Dr.  Smith  also  wrote  the  Preface.  The  translation  thus  labo- 
riously and  faithfully  prepared,  was  first  printed  and  published  in  A.D.  1611, 
in  folio,  and  in  the  old  black  letter. 

In  the  Preface  the  translators  say :  "  We  never  thought  from  the  begin- 
ning, that  we  should  need  to  make  a  new  translation,  nor  yet  to  make  of  a 
bad  one  a  good  one ;  but,  to  make  a  good  one  better,  or  out  of  many  good  ones 
one  principal  good  one,  not  justly  to  be  excepted  against,  that  hath  been  our 
endeavour,  that  our  mark."  This  is  doubtless  a  true  and  appropriate  statement 
of  the  object  and  motives  which  these  eminent  persons  had  before  their  minds, 
in  executing  the  great  work  thus  solemnly  committed  to  their  charge.  They 
claimed  no  infallibility  for  themselves,  nor  for  their  labours.  The  work 
assigned  them  was  strictly  a  revision  of  the  Bishops'  Bible;  which  itself  had 
grown  up  out  of  all  the  preceding  versions.  But  they  everywhere  took  the 
original  Scriptures  as  their  basis  ;  diligently  comparing  likewise  all  the  former 
translations.  In  this  way  they  certainly  succeeded  in  making  "  one  principal 
good  translation,  not  justly  to  be  excepted  against."  Yet  notwithstanding  all 
their  care  and  diligence,  their  own  first  edition  exhibits  some  grave  errors  of 
the  press  ;  most  of  which  were  speedily  corrected  in  subsequent  editions. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  this  venerable  and  truly  national  work  ;  which 
immediately  became  the  standard  English  Bible,  and  superseded  all  the  other 
versions.  Confined  at  first  to  the  limited  territory  of  the  British  Islands,  and 
intended  only  for  a  population  of  a  few  millions,  it  had  the  effect  at  once  to 
develope  and  fix  the  structure  and  character  of  the  English  language ;  and  with 
that  language  it  has  since  been  borne  abroad  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
And  now,  during  the  lapse  of  almost  two  and  a  half  centuries,  it  has  gladdened 
the  hearts,  and  still  gladdens  the  hearts,  of  millions  upon  millions,  not  only  in 
Great  Britain,  but  throughout  North  America  and  India,  in  portions  of  Africa, 
and  in  Australia.  At  the  present  day,  the  English  is  probably  the  vernacular 
tongue  of  more  millions  than  any  other  one  language  under  heaven;  and  the 
English  Bible  has  brought  and  still  brings  home  the  knowledge  of  God's 
revealed  truth  to  myriads  more  of  minds,  than  ever  received  it  through  the 
original  tongues. 

The  translators  little  foresaw  the  vast  results  and  immeasurable  influence 
of  what  they  had  thus  done,  both  for  time  and  for  eternity.     Venerated  men  ! 


JUBILEE  MEMORIAL.  21 

their  very  names  are  now  hardly  known  to  more  than  a  few  persons ;  yet,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  the  fruits  of  their  labours  have  spread  to  far  distant 
climes  ;  have  laid  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  mighty  empires ;  have  afford- 
ed to  multitudes  strength  to  endure  adversity,  and  grace  to  resist  the  temptations 
of  prosperity  ;  and  only  the  revelations  of  the  judgment  day  can  disclose,  how 
many  millions  and  millions,  through  the  instrumentality  of  their  labours,  have 
been  made  wise  unto  salvation.  • 

The  English  Bible,  as  left  by  the  translators,  has  come  down  to  us  unaltered 
in  respect  to  its  text ;  except  in  the  changes  of  orthography  which  the  whole 
English  language  has  undergone,  to  which  the  version  has  naturally  and 
properly  been  conformed ;  and  excepting  also  the  slight  variations  and  dis- 
crepancies, which  in  so  long  an  interval  must  necessarily  arise,  by  reason  of 
human  imperfection,  in  the  preparation  and  printing  of  so  many  millions  of 
copies. 

The  exposure  to  variations  from  this  latter  source  is  naturally  greater, 
wherever  the  printing  of  the  Bible  is  at  the  option  of  every  one  who  chooses  to 
undertake  it,  without  restriction  and  without  supervision ;  as  in  this  country 
since  the  Revolution.  In  Great  Britain,  where  the  printing  has  been  done  only 
under  royal  authority,  by  the  Universities  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford,  and  the 
king's  printers  in  London  and  Edinburgh,  the  like  exposure  does  not  exist  in 
the  same  degree  ;  although,  even  there,  slight  variations  are  continually  mani- 
festing themselves  between  the  copies  bearing  these  different  imprints.  This 
will  appear  more  fully  in  the  sequel. 

In  respect  to  the  accessories  of  the  text,  comprehending  the  contents  of  the 
chapters,  the  running  heads  of  the  columns,  the  marginal  readings  and  refer- 
ences, and  the  chronology,  the  Bibles  of  the  present  day  are  much  less  con- 
formed to  the  original  edition.  The  translators,  as  we  have  seen,  were  to 
append  "  no  marginal  notes  at  all,  but  only  for  the  explanation  of  the  Hebrew 
or  Greek  words ;"  and  also  "  fit  references  of  one  Scripture  to  another."  To  this 
requirement  the  early  editions  were  entirely  conformed ;  and  the  marginal 
•  references  were  very  few.  In  the  lapse  of  time,  however,  extensive  changes 
and  additions  have  been  made  in  most  of  the  above  particulars.  The  contents 
of  the  chapters  only  have  been  preserved  in  the  editions  of  larger  size,  without 
very  great  variation  ;  while  in  copies  of  a  smaller  form,  these  likewise  have 
been  frequently  and  variously  altered  and  abbreviated. 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  periods  and  editions,'  in  which 
these  changes  seem  to  have  been  first  made  : 

An  edition  of  king  James'  Bible  was  printed  in  octavo  at  Amsterdam,  in 
1664,  with  a  preface  by  John  Canne,  a  leader  of  the  English  Brownists.  Tlis 
nurpose  was  to  make  Scripture  the  interpreter  of  Scripture^  by  the  addition  of 
important  marginal  references  "  so  far  as  the  margin  could  contain."  This 
edition,  with  the  preface  and  references  of  Canne,  was  several  times  reprinted 
by  the  king's  printers  in  Edinburgh  and  London.  There  were  editions  by  them 
in  1696,  1698,  1701,  1762,  1766,  etc. 


22  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

In  England  "  many  parallel  texts  "  were  added  by  Dr.  Scattergood,  in  an 
edition  published  at  Cambridge  in  1678. 

Two  years  later,  1680,  an  edition  was  issued  at  Oxford,  with  the  insertion 
of  Usher's  chronology. 

More  important  was  the  Bible  published  in  folio  and  quarto  in  1701,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Tenison,  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  In  this  edition  Dr. 
Lloyd,  then  bishop  of  Worcester,  added  the  chronological  dates  at  the  head  of 
the  columns,  and  a  further  collection  of  parallel  Scriptures.  At  the  end  were 
also  appended  tables  of  Scripture  measures,  weights,  and  coins,  by  Dr.  Cumber- 
land, bishop  of  Peterborough. 

This  edition  was  disfigured  by  typographical  errors  to  such  a  degree,  that 
the  lower  house  of  Convocation,  in  1703,  made  representation  on  the  subject  to 
the  archbishops  and  bishops.  But  the  careless  printing  of  the  Bible  still  con- 
tinued, and  was  carried  to  such  a  height,  in  respect  both  to  correctness  and 
paper,  that  at  last  complaint  was  made  to  king  George  I.  That  monarch  in 
consequence  issued  an  order  to  the  patentees  for  printing  Bibles,  dated  April 
24th,  1724,  directing  that  "they  shall  employ  such  correctors  of  the  press,  and 
allow  them  such  salaries,  as  shall  be  approved  from  time  to  time  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  and  the  bishop  of  London  for  the  time  being."  * 

At  a  later  period,  in  an  edition  published  at  Cambridge,  Dr.  Paris  made 
large  corrections  in  respect  to  the  words  printed  in  Italic.  This  fact  is  men- 
tioned by  Dr.  Blaney  ;  but  we  have  seen  no  further  account  of  the  edition. 

The  most  complete  revision  of  the  English  Bible  was  that  undertaken  at 
Oxford  by  Dr.  Blaney,  about  A.  D.  1767,  under  the.  direction  of  the  Vice 
Chancellor  and  other  Delegates  of  the  Clarendon  Press.  According  to  his 
instructions,  the  Oxford  copies  were  carefully  collated  with  the  folio  edition  of 
1611,  that  of  Dr.  Lloyd  in  1701,  and  two  Cambridge  editions  of  a  late  date. 
The  work  occupied  between  three  and  four  years;  and  in  1769  both  a  quarto 
and  a  folio  edition  were  published  at  the  Clarendon  Press ;  of  which  the  folio 
was  supposed  to  be  the  most  perfect.  The  editor  remarks,  that  "  many  errors 
found  in  former  editions  have  been  corrected,  and  the  text  reformed  to  such  a 
standard  of  purity,  as,  it  is  presumed,  is  not  to  be  met  with  in  any  other 
edition  hitherto  extant."  The  points  upon  which  particular  attention  was 
bestowed  were  the  following  : 

1 .  The  punctuation  was  revised,  in  order  to  express  the  true  sense,  and 
also  to  insure  uniformity,  as  far  as  possible. 

2.  As  to  the  words  printed  in  Italic,  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals  were 
compared,  and  many  alterations  made.  These  changes  were  all  submitted 
previously  to  the  Select  Committee,  and  especially  to  the  Vice  Chancellor  of 
Hertford  College  and  Mr.  Wheeler,  Professor  of  Poetry. 

3.  In  the  heads  or  contents  of  the  chapters,  likewise,  considerable  altera- 


*  Thus  far  the  facts  respecting  the  origin  and  history  of  the  authorized  Version 
have  been  mainly  drawn  from  Lewis'  History  of  the  several  Translations  of  the  Bible  into 
English,  second  edition,  London,  1739,  8vo.    See  also  the  authorities  there  cited. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  23 

tions  were  made.  On  these  much  labour  was  expended  by  the  editor ;  as  also 
by  the  two  gentlemen  above  named,  and  by  Mr.  Griffith,  of  Pembroke  College, 
and  the  (then)  late  Warden  of  New  College ;  by  whom  the  suggestions  of  the 
editor  were  corrected  and  improved. 

4.  The  running  titles  over  the  columns  had  to  be  adapted  to  editions  of 
different  size. 

5.  The  Hebrew  proper  names,  where  the  text  contains  an  allusion  to  their 
meaning,  were  more  fully  translated  in  the  margin. 

6.  Obvious  and  material  errors  in  the  chronology  were  rectified. 

7.  The  marginal  references  were  carefully  compared  and  corrected,  and 
many  new  ones  added,  particularly  from  what  is  mentioned  as  a  "  Scotch 
edition."  The  new  references  are  said  to  have  amounted  to  the  number  of 
30,495,  or  about  thirty  to  each  page  on  an  average.  * 

-  This  edition  of  the  Bible  by  Dr.  Blaney  has  been  regarded,  ever  since  its 
publication,  as  the  standard  copy,  to  which  all  subsequent  issues  in  England 
have  been  conformed.  A  beautiful  edition  in  quarto  was  published  in  London 
by  Eyre  and  Strahan,  printed  by  Woodfall,  in  1806,  and  again  in  1813.  In 
carrying  this  copy  through  the  press,  it  is  said  that  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
errors  were  detected  in  Blaney's  edition ;  one  of  them  an  omission  of  some 
importance. 

Your  Committee  are  not  aware,  that  any  later  general  revision  or  collation 
of  the  English  Bible  has  taken  place  in  Great  Britain.  About  twenty  years 
ago,  the  public  mind,  in  that  country  and  in  our  own,  was  for  a  time  agitated 
by  the  charge  openly  made  against  our  present  English  Bibles,  that  they  had 
been  greatly  corrupted  from  the  original  edition  ;  and  that  what  we  now  have 
is  not  the  English  version  as  prepared  by  king  James'  translators.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  charge,  the  Clarendon  Press  issued  in  1833,  in  quarto,  an  exact 
reprint  in  Roman  letter  of  the  folio  edition  of  1611  in  black  letter.  "The 
reprint  is  so  exact,  as  to  agree  with  the  original  edition  page  for  page,  and 
letter  for  letter ;  retaining  throughout  the  ancient  mode  of  spelling  and  punc- 
tuation, and  even  the  most  manifest  errors  of  the  press." 

The  publication  of  this  reprint  tranquillized  the  public  mind ;  for  it  pre- 
sented ocular  demonstrations,  that,  with  the  exception  of  typographical  errors, 
and  of  the  changes  conformed  to,  and  required  by,  the  progress  of  orthography 
in  the  English  language,  the  text  of  our  present  Bibles  remains  unchanged,  and 
is  without  variation  from  the  original  copy  as  left  by  the  translators. 

Appended  to  this  reprint  is  a  collation  made  with  one  of  the  copies  of  the 
year  1613,  two  years  after  the  original  edition.  The  variations  are  about  375 
in  number,  exclusive  of  the  Apocrypha.       Whether  the  editions  of  1613  were 

*  The  preceding  details  are  taken  from  Dr.  Blaney's  Report  to  the  Vice  Chancellor 
and  other  Dclcrjates  of  the  Clarendon  Press,  dated  Oct.  25th,  1769,  and  printed  in  the 
Unitleman^  Magazine  for  Nov.  1T69,  Vol.  XXXIX.  p.  517  sq.  The  number  of  new 
marginal  references  is  given  in  the  Encyclop.  Metropol.,  art.  Bible. 


24  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

printed  under  the  supervision  of  the  translators  probably  cannot  now  be  known. 
The  variations  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  viz.,  Manifest  errors  of  the 
press  in  the  copy  of  1611 ;  manifest  errors  of  the  press  in  the  copy  of  1613  ; 
other  variations  from  the  reading  of  1611  ;  but  whether  with  or  without  design 
is  not  always  certain. 

It  was  natural,  it  was  an  imperative  duty,  for  the  Society  to 
secure  for  its  use  and  publish  a  Bible  as  near  as  possible  in  con- 
formity with  the  best,  or  most  correct,  English  copy.  And  it 
was  the  more  necessary  that  some  responsible  body  should  have 
this  in  charge,  as  there  was  a  liability  if  in  the  hands  of  the 
ordinary  printer  and  publisher,  from  the  very  magnitude  of  the 
work,  to  suffererrors  to  creep  in.  Some  of  our  American  edi- 
tions from  private  hands  have  been  sadly  defective,  while  some 
from  high  sources  should  have  been  more  rigidly  watched. 
There  is  a  place  here  for  all  the  punctiliousness  which  distin- 
guished the  transcription  of  the  Jewish  text.  Having  the  best 
translation  extant,  it  would  have  been  unpardonable  to  be  care- 
less in  reproducing  it.  Ours  have  not  been  the  times  or  the 
facilities  requisite  to  do  any  thing  beyond  securing  the  correct- 
ness of  the  text.  Some  tyros,  with  a  smattering  of  linguistic 
skill,  thrust  forth  their  improvements  of  the  translation,  as  if  to 
impress  their  hearers  with  their  superior  wisdom ;  and  some 
older  heads  seem  to  think  their  work  is  to  show  up  the  defects 
of  the  translation  on  all  occasions,  as  if  they  were  glaring  and 
numerous ;  becoming  thus  auxiliaries  of  the  adversary  in  under- 
mining the  confidence  of  the  plain  reader  in  his  Bible.  The 
men  who  gave  us  our  English  translation  were  giants  in  their 
department ;  their  race  has  not  been  surpassed,  if  in  individual 
and  rare  eases  equalled.  The  distinguished  Dr.  Guthrie  has 
said :  "  Our  version  of  the  Bible,  like  the  men  who  made  it  and 
those  also  who  use  it,  is  not  faultless.  It  cannot  be  so;  for 
'  who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  V  The  web 
must  ever,  more  or  less,  partake  of  the  loom.  Still,  the  good 
and  learned  men  to  whom  King  James  committed  the  work  of 
translation,  take  it  altogether,  have  done  it  well — so  well,  that 
all  succeeding  attempts  to  produce  a  better  have  failed.  And 
perhaps  the  time  and  labour  which  some  authors  have  spent  in 
detecting  and  exposing  the  small  faults  of  our  version  would 


JUBILEE   MEMORIAL.  25 

have  been  as  well  employed  in  correcting  the  large  faults  of 
their  own  creed  and  conduct." 

Our  Society  has  from  the  first  been  jealous  on  the  subject 
of  a  correct  text,  and  has  employed  every  means  to  secure  it. 
In  1847  the  Version  Committee  undertook  the  most  careful 
revision  of  our  English  text  in  order  to  secure  its  conformity 
to  the  best  British,  so  as  to  make  what  should  be  a  standard 
edition.  This  committee  consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen, 
viz. :  Rev.  Dr.  Spring,  Rev.  Dr.  Turner,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Robin- 
son, Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  E.  Vermilye,  Rev.  Dr. 
James  Floy,  Thomas  Cock,  M.  D.  Years  of  labour  and  pains- 
taking were  devoted  to  the  work ;  reports  of  progress  were 
made  from  time  to  time,  and  their  final  report  in  1851.  The 
work  at  first  met  with  universal  favour,  and  was  unani- 
mously approved  by  the  Board ;  but  exceptions  having  arisen, 
with  considerable  excitement,  in  quarters  which  the  Board 
felt  bound  to  hear,  it  was  decided  to  reconsider  and  modify 
some  things  which  had  been  done,  and  the  subject  was  refer- 
red to  the  same  committee;  but,  in  view  of  all  the  circum- 
stances, they  begged  to  be  excused  from  the  work.*  A  new 
committee  composed  of  the  following,  viz. :  Rev.  Dr.  Spring, 
New  York,  Rev.  Dr.  John  N.  McLeod,  New  York,  Rev.  Dr.  H. 
B.  Smith,  New  York,  Rev.  Dr.  "Win.  H.  Campbell,  New  Jersey, 
Rev.  Dr.  H.  J.  Schmidt,  New  York,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  R.  Williams, 
New  York,  Rev.  Dr.  Lot  Jones,  New  York,  Rev.  Theodore  D. 
Woolsey,  LL.D.,  Connecticut,  Rev.  W.  J.  Lindsay,  New  York, 
was  appointed  for  the  purpose,  and  their  work,  as  reported  and 
approved  by  the  Board,  is  now  our  standard.  Many  were  satis- 
fied with  the  first,  and  all  are  disposed  to  yield  their  confidence 
to  the  present. 

A  by-law  of  the  Board  requires  that  a  copy  of  the  first  edi- 
tion of  every  book  it  publishes,  and  a  copy  of  every  other  edition 
thereof  in  which  material  alterations  have  been  made,  shall  be 
placed  and  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the  Society.  The  cata- 
logue gives  the  list  of  these  down  to  and  including  1862  ;  and  it 
thus  appears,  that  of  the  whole  English  Bible,  seventy-three 

*  Dr.  Spring,  in  his   recent  work,  "  Life  and  Times,"  devotes  a  chapter  to  this 
subject.     See  also  Annual  Report,  1858. 


26  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

kinds'"  have  been  printed ;  of  the  Kew  Testament,  thirty-four 
kinds  ;  of  New  Testament  and  Psalms,  twelve  kinds  ;  of  Psalms, 
three  kinds ;  of  portions,  viz.,  of  John,  one  ;  of  Proverbs,  two 
kinds — the  differences  being  in  size,  in  style  of  type,  in  the 
use  of  references,  in  marginal  readings,  Jn  the  use  of  stereo- 
type or  electrotype  plates,  some  from  plates  derived  from  differ- 
ent sources,  and  others  which  are  merely  technical  with  the 
printer — all,  however,  conformed  to  the  best  English  text  of  the 
date  when  produced. 

Among  the  facts  to  be  noticed  in  the  production  of  Bibles  in 
our  own  tongue,  one  of  the  most  delightful  is  that  of  providing 
the  Sacred  Volume  in  raised  letters  for  the  blind.  Cut  off  as 
they  are  from  innumerable  sources  of  enjoyment  which  give  a 
zest  to  life  to  the  seeing,  and  until  our  own  time  from  intel- 
lectual culture  to  any  great  extent ;  living  in  perpetual  dark- 
ness— life  a  continual  night — blessed  day  was  it  to  them  when  a 
Christian  humanity  discovered  a  means  by  which  the  fields  of 
general  culture  were  opened  to  them,  and  especially  access  was 
opened  to  all  the  riches  of  the  "Word  of  God.  Can  any  one  con- 
ceive the  comfort  of  one  who,  with  his  Bible  before  him  and 
ability  to  read  it,  lives  in  daily  fellowship  with  all  the  past,  and 
though  the  world  is  shut  off  from  his  visual  organs,  has  a  world 
of  his  own,  in  which  his  association  is  with  all  that  is  excellent, 
in  all  elevating  as  well  as  satisfying  themes,  and  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  ?  How  rich  such  an  one 
now  in  perpetual  day !  The  printing  of  the  Bible  for  the  blind 
is  one  of  our  most  blessed  works,  costly  though  it  may  be.  He 
who  doubts  it  must  take  his  place  by  the  side  of  the  pious  blind, 
and  hear  the  outgushing  of  his  happiness.  It  has  been  our 
delightful  privilege  to  extend  this  precious  boon  to  the  blind  in 
Arabia,  Egypt,  and  Syria. 

As  to  the  languages  of  Europe,  the  provision  of  French, 
Spanish,  Italian,  German,  and  Portuguese  Scriptures  has  been  a 
special  object.  A  constant  and  increasing  demand  for  those  at 
home  received  very  early  attention.  The  standards  used  have 
been  those  deemed  in  sound  judgment  to  be  the  most  reliable. 

*4to,  four;  8vo,  twenty-three;  12mo,  twenty-three ;  18mo,  thirteen;  32mo,  six, 
and  16mo,  four — none  in  folio. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  27 

In  the  Spanish,  we  have  reason  to  believe  we  have  the  best  ver- 
sion in  use,  prepared  by  careful  revision  at  our  expense  by  the 
hand  of  a  most  cultivated  native  of  Spain,*  who  under  our  roof 
has  devoted  years  to  its  preparation.  But  in  our  work  on  the 
continent,  most  has  been  and  must  be  accomplished  by  subsidies 
of  money  to  native  societies  and  agencies.  It  is  to  us  a  pleasant 
fact,  that  the  new  world  is  thus  reflecting  to  the  old  countries 
the  light  which  came  from  them  ;  and  the  land  which  has  most 
successfully  perfected  the  printing  press  sends  back  its  bounty 
to  the  land  in  which  the  art  of  printing  was  invented,  and  the 
Bible  in  Latin  was  first  printed. 

One  of  the  efforts  of  our  first  year  was  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  the  aborigines  of  our  country,  and  it  has  always  been 
kept  in  view.  In  the  course  of  years,  portions  have  been  fur- 
nished for  the  Mohawks,  the  Delawares,  the  Senecas,  the  Ojib- 
was,  the  Dakotas,  the  Choctaws,  the  Cherokees,  the  Shawnees. 

As  we  proceed  to  speak  of  the  Scriptures  (in  whole  or  in 
part)  in  Eastern  and  African  tongues,  it  is  becoming  to  note 
emphatically  our  indebtedness  to  missionaries,  without  whose 
aid  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  human  family  must  have  been  left 
without  the  Word  of  Life.  These  noble,  self-sacrificing  men, 
selected  for  their  work  with  great  care  by  the  Church,  well  fur- 
nished by  literary  training,  have  performed  a  service  in  the 
departments  of  ethnology,  philology,  and  geography,  involving 
the  physical,  civil,  and  social  condition  of  the  people  of  other 
lands,  which  has  made  general  science  very  much  their 
debtor,  f  Their  circumstances  constitute  them  the  best  author- 
ities in  all  these  matters.  Not  travellers,  and  thus  almost  con- 
stantly in  transit,  and  only  seeing  the  outside  of  things,  or  the 
mere  dioramic,  swiftly  passing  scenes  of  life — but  living  among 
the  people  in  familiar,  intimate,  confiding  intercourse — they  are 
qualified  both  to  know  the  wants  of  the  people,  in  religious 
things  especially,  and  to  learn  the  best  mode  of  meeting  them. 
Acquiring  living  tongues  among  the  people  who  use  them, 
they  early  feel  the  need  of  the  printed  Volume,  and  are  the 

*  Professor  De  Mora,  of  the  University  of  the  city  of  New  York. 
f  Since  the  above  was  written,  an  able  article  on  this  subject  has  appeared  in  the 
Princeton  Review  for  October,  1SG6. 


28  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

men  to  prepare  it.  With  all  their  previous  careful  preparation 
in  the  best  literary  and  theological  institutions  of  Christian 
lands,  who  rather  than  they  can  be  confided  in  ? 

That  noble  institution,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Soci- 
ety, has  published  the  Bible  in  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  lan- 
guages and  dialects,  and  for  the  larger  proportion  of  these  is 
indebted  to  English  and  American  missionaries. 

That  is  a  most  memorable  record  given  by  the  venerable 
secretary  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  work  of  its  missionaries  in  the  department  of 
Christian  literature  and  Bible  translation  in  pagan  tongues. 
He  says  :  "  The  number  of  languages  in  which  books  have  been 
printed  at  the  presses  owned  by  the  Board  is  forty-three,  viz. : 
the  modern  Greek,  Hebrew,  Spanish,  Armenian,  Turkish,  Bul- 
garian, Arabic,  Syriac,  Mahratta,  Gujerattee,  Sanscrit,  Hindus- 
tanee,  Portuguese,  Persian,  Tamil,  Telugu,  Siamese,  Malay, 
Bugis,  Dyack,  Chinese,  Japanese,  Hawaiian,  Marquesas,  Micro- 
nesian,  Grebo,  Mpongwe,  Dikele,  Zulu-Kaffir,  Cherokee,  Choc- 
taw, Creek,  Osage,  Ojibwa,  Ottawa,  Seneca,  Abenequis,  Sioux 
or  Dakota,  Pawnee,  three  in  Oregon." 

Our  Board  early  understood  the  value  of  missionary  aid,  and 
adopted  resolutions  encouraging  the  preparation  of  versions  by 
missionaries  in  all  fields.  To  the  various  missionary  stations 
these  were  their  expressions :  "  The  Managers  look  with  pecu- 
liar satisfaction  on  the  etforts  of  American  missionaries,  of  dif- 
ferent religious  denominations,  in  translating  the  Scriptures  into 
the  various  tongues  and  dialects  used  at  their  respective  sta- 
tions ;  that  they  hope  to  receive  intelligence  whenever  the  Old 
Testament,  or  the  New  Testament,  or  any  one  entire  Gospel  or 
other  book  of  the  Bible,  is  correctly  translated  and  ready  (with- 
out note  or  comment)  for  the  press ;  and  that  the  missionaries 
be  encouraged  to  expect  that,  on  giving  intelligence,  they  shall 
receive  the  aid  requisite  for  the  publication  of  the  same."  Thus 
have  we  been  furnished  with  a  variety  of  translations,  in  a  num- 
ber of  cases  where,  previous  to  the  labours  of  the  missionaries, 
the  languages  had  not  been  reduced  to  writing,  the  general  rule 
governing  the  preparation  of  such  versions  being,  "that  they 
should  conform  to  the  common  English  version ;  at  least,  so  far 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  29 

as  that  all  religious  denominations  represented  in  the  American 
Bible  Society  can  consistently  use  and  circulate  said  versions  in 
their  several  schools  and  communities." 

This  was  the  great  foundation  principle  of  our  Union,  put 
into  written  form,  without  which  it  could  not  have  been  formed, 
and  now  could  not  exist.  This  met  the  decided  approbation  of 
all  the  denominations  in  the  Bible  Society  compact,  excepting  a 
portion  of  the  Baptist  brethren,  from  two  of  whose  mission 
versions  help  was  withheld  in  consequence  of  their  denomina- 
tional character.  The  action  gave  offence  to  those  brethren, 
and  they  separated  from  us ;  while  some  notable  representative 
brethren  of  the  same  communion  aided  in  shaping  the  final 
action  of  our  Board  in  the  circumstances,  and  have  always  main- 
tained that  the  course  pursued  was  the  true  and  only  one  for 
the  National  Institution  under  its  Constitution.  Let  me  say,  by 
the  way,  time  works  material  changes ;  and  when  excitements 
die  out,  and  calm  revision  takes  place,  it  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  the  place  at  the  common  board  is  kept  unoccupied,  and  the 
door  to  its  occupancy  stands  open,  on  the  ground  of  the  catho- 
licity of  1816,  overarched  by  the  inscription, 

"  Welcome  all  who  love  our  Loed  Jesus  Christ." 


Under  this  policy  the  Board  have  been  enabled  to  furnish 
the  Scriptures,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  the  following  languages 
and  dialects  beyond  the  limits  of  our  own  land,  and  among 
pagan  people:  to  the  Arrawack  in  South  America,  to  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  the  Hindu,  Hindi,  Urdu,  Zulu,  the  Shikh,  the 
Hindustanee,  the  Tamil,  the  Telugu,  Creolese,  the  Syriac,  the 
Arabic,  Micronesian  Islands,  the  Esthonian,  the  Benga,  the 
Grebo,  Fuh-Chau  Colloquial  and  Mandarin  Colloquial,  the  Ar- 
meno-Turkish,  and  now  it  has  in  course  of  preparation  the  Sla- 
vonic and  the  Bulgarian.  That  which  is  destined  to  become 
the  great  foreign  work  of  the  Board,  and  is  already  in  progress, 
is  the  production  of  the  plates  for  printing  the  Scriptures  for  the 
vast  Arabic-speaking  people — "  a  population  extending  from 
Morocco  and  Timbuctoo  on  the  west,  beyond  Calcutta  on  the 
east,  and  numbering  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions." 
It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  in  the  Bible  House,  in  the  heart 


30  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

of  this  busy,  bustling  city,  not  noticed  by  the  passing  throng, 
this  work  of  preparation  is  noiselessly  going  on,  and  the  instru- 
mentality is  daily  advancing,  which  shall  be  a  guide  and  a 
comfort  to  our  fellow  men  over  a  field  almost  parallel  to  the 
English-speaking  area  in  extent,  and  embracing  millions  more 
than  speak  any  one  tongue.  From  missionary  hands  we  receive 
it,  and  by  missionary  hands  it  is  to  be  accomplished. 

Of  that  version  it  is  proper  to  add,  its  preparation  occupied 
sixteen  years  of  almost  consecutive  labour.  The  Syrian  Mission 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  set  apart  for  its 
accomplishment  its  best  men,  and  to  these  were  added  the  best 
native  talent  which  could  be  procured,  in  order  that  it  might  be 
conformed  to  the  native  style  of  expression,  and  to  the  highest 
standard  of  literary  taste.  Rev.  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  regarded  as  a 
master  of  the  Arabic,  began  and  advanced  the  work  so  far  as  to 
complete  the  translation  of  Genesis  and  Exodus,  and  prepare 
the  basis  of  a  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  the  balance  of 
the  Pentateuch,  and  several  minor  prophets ;  and  his  compeer 
of  equal  scholarly  rank,  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  completed  it.  To 
test  its  excellence  and  unsectarian  character,  each  sheet  of  the 
translation,  before  being  finally  printed,  was  submitted  to  the 
careful  scrutiny  of  every  member  of  the  mission,  to  interested 
native  scholars  of  all  sects,  to  other  American  missionaries,  to 
English,  German,  Scotch,  and  Irish  missionaries  of  different  re- 
ligious denominations  and  in  different  parts  of  the  empire,  and 
finally  received  the  warm  and  unqualified  approbation  of  all. 

Its  style  of  execution  is  that  of  a  perfect  transcript  of  the 
Arabic  caligraphy  of  the  Koran,  according  to  a  mode  designed 
by  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  and  executed  by  Mr.  Homan  Hallock,  of  the 
Mission — so  delicate,  so  distinct,  so  beautiful,  that  the  most  cap- 
tious Mohammedan  who  regarded  with  prejudice  and  as  a  prof- 
anation the  printing  of  sacred  books  receives  it  with  delight. 

Highly  is  our  Board  honoured  by  having  charge  of  the  pro- 
duction of  this  great  work,  which  is  destined  to  produce  effects 
in  the  Mohammedan  world,  no  one  can  calculate.  It  is  delight- 
ful to  see  here  the  American  Bible  Society  linked  in  "  with  the 
grandest  operations  and  results  of  missionary  enterprise."  Next 
in  urgency  to   the  supply   of  our    home  want   will  come  the 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  31 

widest  diffusion  of  the  Arabic  version  in  onr  next  semi-century. 
But  here  we  shall  have  co-labourers,  in  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  to  whom  a  set  of  the  plates  will  be  sent,  and  the 
vastness  of  the  work  will  be  worthy  of  both." 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  American  Bible  Society,  in  its 
work  of  production  of  books,  has  not  been  restricted  to  plates  of 
its  own  preparation,  but  uses  those  also  produced  by  foreign 
Bible  societies,  and  especially  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society — presenting  thus  a  union  of  effort  for  an  end  truly 
common  to  all  and  worthy  of  all.  As  in  union  there  is  strength, 
with  God's  blessing  we  anticipate  a  much  more  efficient  per- 
formance of  the  work. 

To  the  Arabic,  it  is  to  be  hoped  may  soon  be  added  as  per- 
fect a  version  in  the  Chinese. — that  a  purer  light  may  be  shed  on 
that  remarkable  and  multitudinous  people,  and  all  may  unite 
in  its  diffusion. 

2.  The  distribution  which  has  been  made  after  this  prepara- 
tion naturally  follows.  Its  beginning  was  small,  very  small. 
Three  sets  of  plates,  octavo,  and  three  in  12mo,  were  donated  to 
the  Society  by  the  New  York  Bible  Society  and  the  New  York 
Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  and  with  these  in  use,  10,000  of  the 
12 mo  were  printed,  and  6,000  sold,  and  a  further  impression 
of  2,500  Svo  and  7,500  of  the  12mo  ordered,  an  unusual 
movement  then ;  but  it  was  the  rill  which  has  become  a  vast 
river. 

Our  city  has  been  designated  a  distributing  reservoir,  our 
Institution  has  been  so  in  the  pouring  out  of  the  precious  Word 
of  Life.  In  this  respect,  a  reservoir  of  pure  water — most  abund- 
ant, refreshing,  free,  adapted  to  purify,  to  nourish  and  strength- 
en, to  allay  the  thirst  of  the  parched  heart — to  quench  the  fire 
of  sinful  passion — to  cure  the  sorrows  of  the  soul,  and  through  a 
thousand  ramifications  to  convey  its  blessings  to  every  house,  to 
every  condition  of  life,  to  every  age,  to  all  where  needed  free, 
and  in  all  its  supply  increasing  as  years  have  passed  on.  Could 
they  who  were  constrained  to  declare  their  inability  to  meet  the 
demands  of  a  score  of  societies  in  1816  now  hear  the  Jubilee 
report,  amazement  would  fill  their  hearts. 


*  See  Appendix  (D.) 


32  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

Let  me  present  this  great  work  by  decades  : 

Vols.  Vols.                Vols. 

1st  year 6,410   11th  year 71,621  21st  year 206,240 

2  "  17,594   12   "  134,607  22  "  158,298 

3  "  31,118   13    "  200,122  23  "  134,937 

4  "  41,513   14    "  238,583  24  "  157,261 

5  "  43,246   15    "  242,183  25  "  152,202 

6  "  53,470   16    "  115,802  26  "  257,0(i6 

7  "  54,805   17    "  91,168  27  "  216,605 

8  "  60,439   18    "  110,832  28  "  314,582 

9  "  63,851   19    "  123,236  29  "  429,092 

10  "  67,134   20   "  221,694  30  "  483,873 


439,580  1,549,848  2,510,156 

31st  year 627,764  41st  year 770,057             Totals. 

32  "  655,066  42  "  712,045   1st  10  yrs 439,580 

33  "  564,726  43  "  721,095   2    "   1,549,S48 

34  "  633,395  44  "  753,772   3    "   2,510,156 

35  "  592,432  45  "  721,878   4    "   6,772,338 

36  "  666,015  46  "  1,093,842   5    "   10,138,044 

37  "  799,380  47  "  1,259,117. 

38  "  815,399  48  "  1,425,147 

39  "  749,896  49  "  1,530,563 

40  "  668,265  50  "  1,150,528 


38  "  815,399   48    "  1,425,147  21,409,966 

39  "  749,896   49    "  1,530,563 


6,772,338  10,138,044 

The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  organized  1804,  has 
issued  47,989,579  volumes. 

The  most  interesting  of  questions  is,  how  have  these  produc- 
tions of  the  Bible  press  been  dispensed — by  what  channels  have 
they  been  conveyed  to  their  destined  fields  ? 

The  auxiliaries  of  all  grades  have  borne  the  principal  part. 
It  has  been  the  preferred  policy  of  the  Board  to  secure  their 
organization  over  the  whole  country,  even  to  the  hamlet,  the 
boarding  school,  and  the  juvenile  association,  embracing  both 
sexes  and  all  conditions  of  social  life.  The  grand  principle  in- 
volved, is  that  of  bringing  home  to  the  heart  of  every  locality 
over  our  land  the  wants  of  those  around  it,  and  to  cherish  the 
feeling  of  responsibility  in  reference  to  the  improvement  of 
their  moral  condition,  and  binding  their  own  attachment  to  the 
Word  of  Life.  It  has  been  found  most  happy,  and  has  diffused 
the  life  of  the  centre  to  the  extremities.  The  work  in  the  hands 
of  these  auxiliaries  has  been  primarily  local,  but  beside  this, 
many  have  helped  on  the  effort  to  give  the  Word  to  the  desti- 


JUBILEE   MEMORIAL.  33 

tute  in  other  fields.  In  dealing  with  the  auxiliaries,  the  practice 
has  been  to  encourage  all  possible  energy  by  selling  to  them  at 
cost,  and  when  needed,  to  add  a  grant  or  gratuity  which  might 
more  effectually  secure  the  accomplishment  of  their  plans.  The 
invariable  practice  is,  to  honour  the  auxiliary  by  putting  into 
its  hands  every  call  for  books  from  its  region,  and  to  make  it 
the  agency  for  any  general  work  it  may  be  able  to  perform.  To 
secure  vitality  and  call  out  energy,  and  make  the  auxiliary  a 
constant  blessing,  are  ends  gained,  while  the  poor  have  the 
sacred  volume  more  certainly  placed  in  their  hands  through 
their  friends  and  neighbours.  These  organized  channels,  with 
the  branches  and  various  forms  of  association,  these  conduits  of 
blessings,  have  risen  to  the  number  of  5,232,  and  last  has  been 
added  to  them  two  auxiliaries  of  coloured  persons  in  Tennessee. 
Sometimes,  at  the  extremes  of  our  population,  the  Bible  Com- 
mittee, consisting  of  several  trustworthy  persons,  is  the  tempo- 
rary substitute  for  the  auxiliary,  and  does  its  work  until  a  more 
permanent  organization  occurs. 

In  dispensing  the  gratuities  of  the  Society,  the  Committee  of 
Distribution  has  a  most  blessed  part  to  perform — one  which  con- 
stitutes its  service  a  source  of  positive  Christian  enjoyment.  It 
is  its  province  to  look  carefully  into  every  application  and 
recommend  the  donation  which  may  be  needed.  Its  monthly 
record  discloses  the  channels  through  which  our  benefactions 
flow  forth.  Beside  the  work  by  the  auxiliaries,  now  the  appli- 
cant is  the  Christian  traveller,  who  is  about  to  go  forth  over  a 
wide  and  new  field,  who  would  take  a  supply  which  he  may 
dispense ;  and  then,  it  is  the  commercial  agent  who,  while 
moving  variously  on  his  secular  work,  would  do  a  work  for  the 
souls  of  the  strangers  with  whom  he  may  be  thrown.  Now,  it 
is  the  Christian  female  on  the  borders  of  the  land  who  sees  many 
doors  opened  for  Christian  usefulness,  and  earnestly  calls  for  the 
Bible  or  portions  of  it.  Then  it  is  the  clergyman  who  is  about 
to  try  the  dangers  of  the  deep  and  seek  a  foreign  land — who 
would  have  the  means  of  doing  good  to  the  sturdy  mariner  on 
his  voyage,  and  also  carry  the  Scriptures  to  benighted  popula- 
tions where  the  light  is  excluded  ;  then,  it  is  the  public  func- 
tionary going  abroad,  who,  with  a  warm  Christian  heart,  would 

3 


34  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

have  the  means  of  putting  into  the  hands  of  his  wandering 
countrymen  the  Bible,  which  shall  remind  them  of  home, 
while  he  may  help  also  the  stranger.  The  invalids  seeking 
health  in  a  Southern  clime  have  carried  with  them  many  a 
Bible  to  the  destitute.  The  pious  sea  captain  has  considered  it 
indispensable  to  take  his  Scriptures  in  various  languages  to 
deposit  at  the  points  where  they  may  do  good,  and  set  up  in  some 
hearts  the  fear  of  God.  The  Christian  family  in  its  summer 
wanderings  has  been  cast  into  neighbourhoods  where  sad  desti- 
tution prevailed — or  where  a  struggling  Sabbath  school  effort 
was  in  progress — or  where  a  feeble  Church  could,  only  with 
great  individual  sacrifices,  sustain  the  public  worship  of  God  ; 
and  their  appeal  must  be  met.  These  are  the  smaller  channels ; 
but  how  pleasant,  and  often  touching  ! 

But  on  a  broader  scale ;  The  Tract  Society  with  its  vast  and 
most  useful  colporteur  system  has  been  made  the  conveyancer 
of  many  thousands  of  copies  where  no  other  Christian  visiter 
had  come.  The  Parent  Sunday  School  of  our  country,  in  its 
care  for  the  interests  of  the  children,  and  especially  in  our  newly 
settled  country  and  where  it  has  often  preceded  the  Church, 
makes  its  annual  appeal ;  and  no  less  earnest  are  the  denomina- 
tional Sunday  school  unions.  The  supply  of  Sunday  schools 
every  where  among  the  poor  has  been  an  object  very  near  to  the 
heart  of  the  Bible  Society.  The  appeals  from  the  Orphan  Asy- 
lum, the  Penitentiary,  the  Prison,  the  Hospital,  the  Soldiers' 
Home,  the  Home  of  the  Friendless,  have  been  promptly  heard 
and  answered. 

Some  periods  of  revived  Bible  effort  have  occurred,  which 
have  imparted  new  energy  to  our  work.  In  1825,  the  Monroe 
County  Bible  Society,  in  our  State,  solemnly  resolved  to  supply 
within  a  year  all  the  destitute  families  within  its  limits ;  and  the 
pledge  was  redeemed.  Many  other  county  societies  caught  the 
same  spirit  and  followed  the  example,  and  thus,  in  the  progress 
of  a  few  years,  a  vast  diffusion  occurred.  But  our  home  supply, 
in  consequence  of  the  rapid  changes  constantly  taking  place, 
and  the  coining  in  of  new  populations,  can  never  be  complete, 
or  remain  so ;  hence,  many  auxiliaries  have  repeated  once  and 
again  their  good  work. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  35 

A  few  years  after  the  county  movement,  which  illustrated 
what  could  be  done  where  there  was  a  union  of  will  and  effort, 
the  supply  of  the  whole  country  in  two  years  was  undertaken. 
It  was  a  great  national  movement,  and  in  the  lapse  of  the  time 
specified,  from  which  the  supply  was  undertaken  at  differing 
points,  a  fair  accomplishment  of  the  resolution  was  publicly 
announced. 

But  it  was  left  for  the  closing  five  years  of  our  half  century 
to  witness  the  mightiest  achievement  in  the  way  of  home  distri- 
bution. The  unhappy  civil  strife  still  fresh  in  our  memory, 
and  whose  sad  mementos  are  every  where,  called  our  hundreds 
of  thousands  from  their  homes  over  our  whole  land.  Every 
feeling  of  humanity  and  religion  pleaded  for  every  care  and 
provision  for  their  welfare,  and  especially  that  they  might  have 
the  Word  of  Life.  Our  auxiliaries  did  a  noble  work  in  their 
fields — but  the  needs  often  exceeded  their  ability — hence,  they 
appealed  for  help,  that  every  soldier  might  carry  about  him  a 
spiritual  comforter  and  guide.  The  appeals  were  heard,  the 
grateful  pressure  increased,  and  it  was  found  desirable  to  adopt 
a  system  which  should  both  facilitate  the  supply  and  distribute 
it  most  wisely.  ■  Points  were  selected  to  which  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments should  be  sent,  and  from  which  responsible  hands  should 
carry  them  to  the  army  and  navy.  The  system  was  of  such  a 
character  and  proved  so  successful  as  a  basis,  that  it  deserves  a 
place  here : 

I.  To  the  Washington  City  Bible  Society,  for  the  army  in  Virginia,  hos- 
pitals, camps,  prisons,  and  within  their  range  of  general  operations. 

II.  For  St.  Louis,  for  use  of  the  Christian  Commission,  and  for  distribution 
from  that  point. 

III.  To  the  Louisville,  Ky.,  Bible  Society,  to  be  distributed,  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Bulkley,  its  depositary,  from  that  point  down  into 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and  Alabama. 

IV.  To  the  Maryland  State  Bible  Society,  for  the  army  hospitals,  forts,  and 
ships  of  war,  in  and  around  Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and 
in  adjacent  parts  of  Virginia. 

V.  To  the  New  York  Branch  of  the  Christian  Commission,  for  a  similar 
distribution  at  and  near  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  and  parts  adjacent. 

VI.  To  the  same,  for  distribution  in  the  same  way  at  and  near  Beaufort, 
South  Carolina,  and  other  parts  of  that  State. 


36  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

VII.  For  New  Orleans,  to  be  under  the  charge  of  a  special  Agent  to  be 
appointed,  who  shall  supervise  the  distribution  from  that  great  centre,  and 
who  shall,  as  far  as  may  be  practicable,  co-operate  with  such  gentlemen  of  the 
Southwestern  Bible  Society  as  may  be  disposed  to  act  in  concert,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Commission. 

Immediately  liberal  appropriations  were  made.  The  first 
under  the  arrangement  amounted  to  475,000  volumes.  From 
that  time  every  power  of  our  producing  department  was  placed 
under  requisition,  and  kept  so  for  three  fall  years  in  succession. 
"We  look  back  with  astonishment  on  the  capabilities  of  our 
arrangements  for  furnishing  the  supply  required.  The  follow- 
ing general  statement  will  aid  in  the  formation  of  a  fair  concep- 
tion of  them.  During  the  pressure  of  1863,  1864,  and  a  part  of 
1865,  we  were  enabled  to  produce,  ready  for  distribution,  an 
amount  which  was  equal  to  ten  volumes  per  minute,  embracing 
all  sizes  and  parts.  The  Society  enjoyed  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  its  friends,  whose  liberality  abounded ;  its  agencies  were 
happy  to  do  the  work  with  which  they  were  charged.  It  was 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  wars,  as  was  that  of  the  Sanitary 
and  Christian  Commissions.  To  the  Christian  Commission, 
composed  of  volunteer  labourers  from  the  ministry,  the  col- 
lege fraternity,  the  theological  seminary,  the  counting  room, 
the  home  circle,  the  sons  and  the  daughters  of  the  Christian 
family,  we  and  our  country  cannot  be  too  emphatic  in  our 
thanks,  as  theirs  was  a  work  of  the  highest  Christian  benevo- 
lence, ministering  to  the  bodily  comfort  of  our  brave  soldiers, 
but  especially  to  their  soul's  welfare,  in  circumstances  of  great 
danger  on  the  battle  field,  and  under  various  exposures  and 
hardships,  in  the  camps  and  hospitals,  on  the  land  and  on  the 
sea.  Through  this  channel  were  distributed  1,466,748  volumes, 
valued  at  $179,824  99.  Theirs  and  ours  has  been  the  joy  to 
know  that  the  most  blessed  fruits  accompanied  and  followed  the 
united  Christian  services.  The  whole  constitutes  a  model  chap- 
ter in  the  history  of  evangelical  benevolence.  The  wise  order- 
ing of  Providence  enabled  us  thus  to  reach  many  a  man  who 
had  not  been  within  our  reach  before,  to  revive  the  heart  of 
many  a  true  Christian  soldier,  to  impart  comfort  to  many  a 
dying  brave,  and  with  the  survivors,  to  send  many  a  copy  of 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  6( 

the  Scriptures  to  homes  in  the  wilderness,  and  these  made  dear- 
er by  the  circumstances  in  which  obtained. 

But  it  was  not  alone  our  army  which  was  supplied.  Large 
appropriations  were  cheerfully  made  to  those  in  conflict  against 
us.  And,  we  are  happy  to  record  that  our  proper  authorities 
unhesitatingly  and  cheerfully  allowed  our  Bible  benefactions  to 
cross  the  lines  to  their  destinations,  and  granted  liberal  use  of 
various  public  means  of  transportation. 

Closely  in  connexion  with  these,  where  our  arms  were  suc- 
cessful, the  Scriptures  were  sought  for  and  sent  through  various 
missionary  societies  to  the  freedmen  of  the  South,  whose  thirst 
for  the  precious  Word  was  one  of  the  happiest  comments  on 
their  appreciation  of  their  changed  situation. 

It  is  pleasant  to  note  here,  that  while  our  own  armies  at 
home  were  receiving  the  Scriptures  so  eagerly,  our  Agent  in 
Germany  was  widely  distributing  them  among  the  Austrian 
army  in  the  war  with  Denmark ;  following  thus  the  example  of 
the  lamented  Righter,  who,  in  time  of  the  Crimean  war,  was 
greatly  successful  in  giving  the  Scriptures  to  portions  of  the 
British  army. 

The  missionaries  of  the  several  foreign  missionary  organ- 
izations of  our  country  have  constituted  another  most  important 
channel  of  distribution.  Having  furnished  in  many  cases  the 
translations  required,  they  have  become  the  means  of  supply  to 
vast  multitudes  who  were  without  the  Sacred  "Word.  In  many 
cases,  the  entire  work  of  preparation  and  printing  has  been  done 
abroad  on  appropriations  by  our  Board;  while  in  others,  the 
Scriptures  have  been  sent  from  this  country.  Though  distinct  in 
our  organizations,  the  missionary  and  Bible  societies  of  Christen- 
dom become  thus  by  mutual,  and  we  may  say,  necessary  co- 
operation in  the  grandest  efforts  of  Christian  philanthropy,  a 
"World  moving  agency  for  good.  In  the  use  of  this  agency  in 
distribution  as  well  as  preparation,  the  Board  have  been  govern- 
ed by  the  following  views : 

1 .  They  can  pay  for  printing  and  binding  of  the  Scriptures. 

2.  They  can  pay  for  storage  of  books  when  needful,  and  also  for  their 
transportation  to  places  of  distribution. 

3.  They  can  pay  for  such   native  colporteur  service  by  believers  in  the 


38  JUBILEE   MEMORIAL. 

Bible  as  they  may  from  time  to  time  authorize  and  appoint,  and  as  is  confined 
to  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  and  when  the  missionaries  have  not  time 
to  perform  this  work  for  themselves. 

4.  They  may  appoint,  to  aid  in  making  and  correcting  foreign  translations, 
persons  of  competent  learning  and  skill ;  such  translations  or  corrections,  when 
prepared  and  made,  to  be  subject  to  the  action  and  decision  of  the  Committee 
on  Versions  and  the  Board,  as  is  required  by  our  by-laws. 

What,  then,  is  the  sum  of  this  half-century  diffusion  ? 
Upon  our  own  land  our  abundance  has  been  poured  out  freely 
and  liberally,  and  constantly  flows  on.  The  aborigines  of  our 
country,  so  rapidly  passing  away,  have  been  cared  for.  They 
who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and  do  business  on  the  mighty 
deep,  have  received  the  Word  at  our  hands,  and  been  made  our 
carriers  of  blessed  treasures  to  the  islands  of  both  the  great  seas 
on  the  east  and  west  of  us.  We  have  planted  ourselves  on  the 
great  continental  peninsula  south  of  us,  and  occupied  posts  in 
New  Granada  and  Venezuela  on  the  north ;  at  Rio  and  Buenos 
Ayres  on  the  east,  sending  the  Scriptures  up  the  mighty  Ama- 
zon, and  the  Lesser  Orinoco,  and  the  La  Plata,  into  the  interior 
of  Brazil  and  Buenos  Ayres  and  Argentine  Republic ;  on  the 
west,  at  Valparaiso  in  Chili,  and  at  Lima  in  Peru.  Soon  may 
the  converging  lines  meet  on  the  great  central  plateau !  With 
hearty  co-operation  we  have  sent  our  aid  to  Bible  brethren  in 
sunny  France,  and  multiplied  the  sources  of  healthful  Christian 
life  among  the  millions  of  disenthralled  Italy.  We  have  been 
repaying  the  Reformation  debt  to  the  masses  of  Germany,  sadly 
corrupted  by  an  infidel  virus.  Early  we  sent  to  Russia  the  tes- 
timonials of  our  interest  in  her  vast  populations.  In  Greece, 
over  Turkey  in  Europe,  and  in  Asia,  where  American  mission- 
aries have  gone,  have  they  diffused  the  Scriptures,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  which  American  piety  furnished.  Down  the  West 
African  coast,  and  to  various  interior  tribes,  and  around  to  the 
Natal  country,  the  printed  message  of  mercy  has  been  sent  in 
their  own  tongues.  Over  India  have  our  brethren,  in  our 
name,  dispensed  the  precious  substitute  for  the  Shasters  and 
Zendavesta  in  various  tongues.  China,  with  her  dense  masses, 
has  to  a  degree  received  the  Word  in  her  own  tongue,  while 
at  the  door  of  Japan  the  missionary  is  watching  the  opening, 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  39 

to  take  in  with  hirn  at  every  commercial  port  his  recent  trans- 
lation. 

Truly  the  sun  does  not  set  on  the  immense  area  to  which, 
and  through  which,  the  American  Bible  Society,  as  the  distrib- 
uting reservoir  of  one  form  of  American  Christian  liberality,  is 
sending  the  pure  water  of  life  to  the  millions  upon  millions  of 
immortal  men.  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto 
thy  name  be  all  the  praise,  for  thy  mercy  and  thy  truth's 
sake." 

III.  Let  me  ask  your  attention  now  to  a  third  important 
point,  viz.,  The  facilities  and  co-operating  agencies  which  have 
been  enjoyed. 

Where  so  great  a  work  has  been  accomplished,  we  naturally 
decide  there  must  have  been  instrumentalities  adapted  to  secure 
the  results  reported,  and  these  a  gracious  Providence  has  fur- 
nished us. 

1.  In  the  enumeration  here  to  be  made,  a  first  and  special 
place  must  be  given  to  the  form  and  character  of  our  organi- 
zation. Ours  is  a  catholic  institution ;  and  this  has  imparted  to  it 
a  special  charm  and  attractiveness.  Ours  is  a  union  of  interests 
and  feelings  and  efforts.  We  occupy  the  ground  common  to  all 
who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  no  Shibboleth  in 
our  relations  here.  On  our  frontal  is  the  whole  Bible — the  open 
Bible — the  unshackled,  free  Bible.  How  this  at  once  shuts 
out  agitations,  anticipates  and  prevents  jealousies,  secures  con- 
fidence, developes  love,  gives  power,  and  wins  for  it  a  way 
among  all,  and  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  all !  We  often  hear 
brethren  in  public  remark  and  dwell  on  the  catholicity  of  our 
platform.  We  wonder  not ;  for  there  is  a  charm  in  it.  Our  Divine 
Master  has  taught  us  all  a  most  blessed  lesson  hereby — that 
we  are  one  in  the  same  Saviour,  and  can  walk  together  in  the 
same  consecrated  way.  We  are  not  parted  off  into  narrow 
inclosures;  we  are  like  society  itself,  where  there  are  family 
interests  and  acts  separate  and  peculiar,  but  where  the  aggrega- 
tion constitutes  a  united  whole,  and  all  co-operate  for  the  innu- 
merable common  interests  in  which  we  are  alike  sharers.  Our 
union  has   thus  been   a  most  persuasive   appeal — a  most   elo- 


40  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

quent  and  moving  fact;  it  lias  been  a  moral  lever;  it  has  been 
a  key  to  unlock  hearts ;  and  it  must  ever  be  so. 

It  is  written  indelibly  on  our  Constitution,  as  expressed  in 
one  of  the  Annual  Reports :  "  We  superintend  the  concerns,  not 
of  a  party,  but  of  the  whole  body  of  Christians,  who  are  united 
in  the  National  Institution  for  the  sole  purpose  of  distributing 
the  Bible  without  note  or  comment."  While  this  has  been  such 
an  arm  of  power  in  "  Bible  work,"  it  is  a  delightful  thought 
that  its  influence  has  been  most  widely  felt  in  other  relations. 
There  has  been  a  growing  feeling  of  regard  towards  each  other 
among  Christian  bodies,  and  efforts  for  closer  union  are  the 
happy  characteristic  of  our  times.  Where  now  are  those  bitter, 
acrid,  injurious,  unkind  presentations  of  the  opinions  of  others, 
which  in  days  past  have  been  so  common,  and  which  gave  the 
world  only  the  ideas  of  contention  and  sectarian  hatred,  to  the 
prejudice  of  piety  as  being  both  unlovely  and  undesirable? 
Men  have  learned  to  respect  each  other  more,  and  to  estimate 
at  a  proper  value  both  the  points  in  which  they  agree  and  in 
which  they  disagree,  and  to  recognise  in  each  other,  notwith- 
standing various  differences,  followers  of  the  same  Saviour,  and 
co-workers  in  the  same  great  Cause.  May  the  blessed  influence 
go  on,  until  we  shall  all  feel  how  truly  we  are  one ! 

2.  I  mention  as  a  second  most  important  agency,  in  our  suc- 
cessful and  advancing  work,  the  obtaining  of  a  local  habitation. 
We  look  back,  and  note  with  surprise  how  the  conception  and 
plans  for  a  National  Institution  were  in  contrast  with  the  means 
at  hand.  There  was  here  an  infancy  which  feels  its  way  to 
strength  and  progress.  It  is  recorded,  that  "  our  Board  com- 
menced its  work  without  a  home ;  it  lived  on  hospitality.  It 
expresses  its  gratitude  to  the  governors  of  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital, and  also  to  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  for  their 
kindness,  promptly  tendered,  in  granting  them  the  use  of  rooms 
in  which  for  some  time  they  transacted  business,"  and  at  the 
time  of  this  expression  was  accommodated  by  the  New  York 
Historical  Society.  Its  first  place  of  deposite  for  books  was  in 
the  office  of  its  Agent,  John  E.  Caldwell,  Esq.,  at  the  corner  of 
Nassau  and  Cedar  Streets ;  then  in  a  rear  room,  seven  feet  by 
nine,  in  the  printing  office  in  Cliff  Street ;  then  in  a  building  in 


JUBILEE   MEMORIAL.  41 

Sloat  Lane,  now  Hanover  Street,  adjoining  the  Merchants' 
Exchange,  in  a  rear  room  twenty  feet  square  (which  it  was 
hoped,  as  a  great  point,  would  at  length  be  tilled) ;  and  then 
its  work  and  depository  were  in  different  places.  As  labour 
increased,  it  was  felt  to  be  exceedingly  inconvenient,  and  a  bar 
to  progress,  to  have  work  done  in  different  buildings,  and  with 
little  security,  and  an  increased  risk  of  incorrectness.  The 
fourth  year  found  the  Board  necessitated  to  seek  a  building 
which  should  supply  the  accommodations  requisite  for  the  sev- 
eral departments,  and  entirely  under  the  oversight  of  the  Gen- 
eral Agent.  Soon  after  the  sixth  anniversary,  a  proper  site  was 
secured  in  Nassau  Street  (now  Nos.  115-119),  and  the  building 
was  completed  by  the  ensuing  winter.  Its  internal  arrange- 
ments were  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  the  Society  ;  it  was 
three  stories  high  and  fifty  feet  front,  and  ran  back  to  Theatre 
Alley  a  depth  of  one  hundred  feet,  contracted  at  its  wTest  end  to 
a  width  of  thirty  feet.  All  the  business  of  the  Society  was  done 
there,  and  for  the'  time  being  it  was  practicable  to  carry  on  the 
growing  business  with  greater  regularity  and  system,  and  main- 
tain the  proper  supervision  of  each  branch  of  work.  Imme- 
diately new  tone  was  imparted  to  every  form  of  work,  and 
greater  interest  given  to  the  meetings  of  the  Board  in  a  capa- 
cious hall.  Such  was  the  inflowing  prosperity,  however,  that  in 
1830  two  additional  lots  adjacent  were  bought  and  occupied  by 
buildings,  making  a  front  of  ninety-four  feet  on  Nassau  Street. 
Here  was  a  property,  devoted  exclusively  to  Bible  work,  worth 
over  $30,000,  which  private  Christian  liberality  had  erected  and 
paid  for.  It  was  at  the  time  the  most  noble  benefaction  which 
could  have  been  made.  The  influence  was  felt  throughout  the 
whole  circle  of  our  Bible  friends,  stimulating  to  new  effort  on 
their  part. 

Great  as  was  this  work  then,  the  enlarged  blessings  vouch- 
safed in  the  lapse  of  twenty-four  years  constrained  the  Board  to 
make  an  effort  for  accommodations  for  operations  bearing  some 
proportion  to  the  calls  for  the  "Word  of  Life. 

After  much  inquiry  and  numerous  discouragements,  the 
most  desirable  spot,  where  now  stands  the  Bible  House,  was 
purchased  (containing  three  quarters  of  an  acre),  and  the  build- 


42  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

ing  erected  ;  an  object  of  increasing  interest  throughout  our 
land.     Simple  in  its  style,  yet  imposing  in  its  noble  dimensions, 
looking  over  this  vast  city  and  central  to  its  teeming  population, 
it  cannot  but  be  admired,  every  inch  of  it  admirably  adapted 
to  its  purposes,  and  reflecting  the  greatest  credit  on  the  Commit- 
tee charged  with  its  erection,  and  so  constructed  as  to  become 
a  large  annual  contributor  to  Bible  work.     While  we  admire 
this  noble  edifice  for  its  architectural  beauty  and  its  benevolent 
aim,  we  are  not  to  forget  that  it  is  also  the  result  of  the  gifts  of 
private  munificence,  costing  over  a  quarter  of  a  million,  and 
now  estimated  as  worth  more  than  $350,000.*     It  stands  a  glori- 
ous testimonial  of  the  largeness  of  views  and  wise  estimation 
of  the  immense  uses  for  which  it  was  to  be  employed.     Its  erec- 
tion is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  a  far  reaching  faith,  whose 
correctness  every  year  is  confirming.     After  being  paid  for,  the 
rental  of  parts  not  needed  for  our  work  yields  to  the  general 
income  of  the  Society  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the 
executive  officers.      Without  the  first  building,  the   Society's 
work  must  have  been  sadly  dwarfed,  and  increased  calls  could 
not  have  been  encouraged ;  and  yet  that  building,  so  valuable  in 
its  erection,  in  our  progress  proved  very  deficient.     Without  the 
present  house,  or  one  equivalent,  the  work  of  the  last  five  years 
could  not  have  been  undertaken.     Overwhelmed  by  the  press- 
ure, we  must  have  given  up  in  despair  of  ever  meeting  the  most 
remarkable  opportunity  of  Bible  circulation,  providentially  fur- 
nished at  our  door,  which  will  scarcely  offer  again.     For  the 
future,  we  have  in  it  a  most  suitable  preparation.     Trusting  and 
believing  that  God  has  still  greater  designs  to  accomplish  by 
the  Society,  we  may  rejoice  that  our  noble  House  will  be  ready 
for  them. 

3.  That  the  Board  have  been  able  to  avail  themselves  of 
every  typographical  advantage,  we  mention  as  a  third  notable 
circumstance  in  helping  on  the  Bible  work. 

The  printing  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  for  our  use  was  done 
for  a  number  of  years  by  contract,  and  with  the  exception  of 
two  years,  by  one  house.  This  system  was  after  the  usage  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  has  its  advantages 

*  See  Appendix  (D.),  description  of  building. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  43 

and  serious  disadvantages.  When  the  time  of  renewal  of  the  last 
contract  had  arrived,  the  whole  policy  was  referred  to  a  Special 
Committee,  composed  of  the  most  practical  men  in  the  Board. 
The  decision  was  not  arrived  at  in  haste.  Every  proper  inquiry 
was  made ;  printing  and  publishing  firms  were  consulted ;  the 
report  submitted  presented  the  merits  of  the  question  fairly,  and 
was  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Managers,  January,  1844.  The 
general  views  of  the  report  deserve  a  place  here,  as  the  whole 
mode  of  proceeding  by  the  Society  was  altered  from  this 
date.  The  conclusions  were :  "  That  the  Society  can  do  the 
press  work  at  one  half  the  present  prices.  There  will  be  a  sav- 
ing over  the  present  system  in  paper.  Having  the  printing 
under  our  own  control,  we  should  avoid  all  collisions  with  the 
printer  as  to  the  quantity  of  paper  required  for  a  given  edition  ; 
as  to  the  character  of  the  ink,  the  manner  of  pressing  the  sheets, 
of  the  delivery  of  the  work  and  other  minor  matters,  about 
which  such  collisions  have  not  been  unfrequent,  and  which  are 
very  unprofitable. 

"  We  should  be  free  from  all  ground  of  complaint  of  paying 
extravagant  prices  to  our  printer,  with  which  some  portions  of 
our  community  have  ever  abounded,  to  the  injury  of  our  Bible 
cause,  and  which  our  agents  are  now  constantly  meeting ;  for 
whatever  money  might  be  saved  by  adopting  this  course  would 
be  directly  for  the  advancement  of  the  great  cause  of  the  Bible, 
and  not,  as  now,  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual.  This  with 
your  Committee  is  a  consideration  of  great  moment."  This 
formed  an  epoch  in  the  career  of  the  Society,  the  wisdom  of 
which  the  successful  course  of  twenty  years  has  most  satisfac- 
torily manifested.  The  Managers  were  happy  in  obtaining  a 
suitable  superintendent  of  its  printing  department,  and  it  at 
once  introduced  such  improved  processes  as  the  advance  of  the 
art  brought  within  its  reach. 

Of  the  great  arts  of  life,  scarcely  any  branch  has  been  more 
improved  than  printing  ;  in  the  machinery  employed,  in  typog- 
raphy, the  saving  of  composition  by  the  use  of  plates,  while 
the  capability  and  rapidity  of  production  have  increased  many 
fold.  Of  all  this  the  Managers  have  been  enabled  to  avail 
themselves  in  their  former  house  to  a  degree,  but   especially 


44  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

in  the  present.  The  use  of  simple  type,  of  the  hand  press, 
has  been  a  marvel  in  its  day,  and  so  was  the  stereotype.  The 
facility  of  taking  impressions,  and  of  multiplying  them  to 
many  thousands,  and  still  keep  the  face  of  the  plates  perfect, 
enabled  the  printer  to  meet  almost  any  demand.  In  our  own 
case,  it  enabled  the  Board  always  to  keep  in  advance  of  all 
demands,  or  meet  them  at  short  notice.  From  a  set  of  stereo- 
type plates,  the  large  number  of  350,000  impressions  could  be 
taken  before  they  were  considered  unfit  for  use. 

In  1854,  that  greatest  marvel  of  printing  plates,  the  electro- 
type, was  first  used  in  the  Bible  House.  Since  which,  35,000 
electro  plates  have  been  made.  The  amazing  fact  has  been 
given  me,  that  since  April,  1856,  three  sets  of  pocket  Testa- 
ment electro  plates  have  been  worn  out  in  the  service,  from 
which  4,632,000  impressions  have  been  made,  being  an  average 
of  1,544,000  copies  from  each. 

The  Printing  Press  lias  also  reached  a  point  of  almost  vital- 
ized power.  There  are  in  the  press-room  fifteen  (Adams')  power 
presses,  capable  of  printing  nearly  2,000,000  of  the  Scriptures  in 
a  year,  while  provision  has  been  made  in  the  construction  of  the 
press-room  to  increase  the  capability  of  printing  one  third.* 

Let  one  look  at  the  issues,  and  he  sees  the  result  of  the  work, 
and  says,  How  can  this  be  ?  Let  him  look  at  these  electrotypes 
and  steam  presses,  and  he  can  answer  his  question,  but  it  will 
be  with  a  feeling  of  surprise  at  the  wonderful  combinations 
involved.  What  ability  lies  here  to  meet  any  amount  of  requi- 
sition !  Some  one  has  said :  "  No  family  in  the  land  need  be  a  day 
without  the  Bible,  if  the  auxiliaries  are  faithful."  Happy  day 
will  it  be  when  this  Society  is  put  to  the  test  of  supplying  the 
Scriptures  to  meet  such  a  movement.  The  history  of  the  past 
clearly  shows  how  it  will  come  up  to  such  a  new  but  most 
desirable  condition  of  circumstances. 

4.  A  constant  and  increasing  supply  of  pecuniary  aid  by 
the  lovers  of  the  Bible  is  to  be  gratefully  mentioned  as  a  vital 
agency  in  the  work  accomplished. 

Money  has  been  called  the  sinews  of  war ;  so  is  it  of  every 

*  Provision  has  been  made  for  the  introduction  of  four  additional  power  presses 
of  the  largest  size.    These  have  been  ordered,  and  two  are  already  in  operation. 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  45 

practical  business  operation  of  life.  Armies  cannot  be  raised 
and  sustained  without  it ;  the  affairs  of  commerce  cannot  be 
carried  on  without  it ;  the  State  cannot  be  maintained  without 
it ;  no  more  can  the  great  operations  of  Christian  benevolence 
be  carried  on  without  it.  Some  seem  to  think  that  prayer  is  all 
that  is  necessary  here,  and  their  means  are  saved  for  other  pur- 
poses. Blessed  be  prayer;  but  especially  blessed  in  the  divine 
record  is  the  case  of  him  whose  prayers  and  alms,  or  practical 
benevolence,  came  up  in  unison  before  God.  We  have  reason 
to  believe  that  this  union  has  existed  in  many  a  case  in  our  his- 
tory. While  the  sincerity  of  the  prayer  has  been  attested  by 
the  gift,  the  efficacy  of  both  has  been  attested  by  the  crowning, 
responding  blessing  which  has  been  poured  out. 

During  the  first  year  the  Board,  if  not  startled,  were  much 
moved  by  the  rush  of  calls  for  the  Scriptures  while  their  treasury 
was  low.  Accordingly,  in  addition  to  all  the  circulars  issued 
over  the  land,  arrangements  were  made  to  have  this  city  dis- 
tricted, and  collectors  go  from  house  to  house  to  solicit  contribu- 
tions. If  there  were  any  fears  for  the  incoming  of  means,  they 
were  soon  allayed ;  for  men's  hearts  and  purses  were  opened, 
and  thousands  were  emulous  to  give  something  for  the  diffusion 
of  this  best  of  books.  The  venerable  bowed  down  with  years 
gave,  and  the  child  emptied  his  box  of  savings.  There  have 
been  many  noble  benefactors,  to  whom  it  has  been  a  delight  to 
contribute  of  their  abundance ;  and  the  widow's  mite,  all  her 
living,  has  been  also  meekly  deposited.  The  recent  convert  has 
brought  his  thanksgiving  offering;  and  he  rescued  from  the 
borders  of  the  grave  has  added  his  memorial.  The  father  whose 
prayers  have  been  answered  in  the  conversion  of  his  children 
has  laid  his  gift  upon  the  altar,  with  the  outpourings  of  a  full 
heart ;  and  he  whose  children  have  been  snatched  from  the 
grave  has  linked  them,  by  his  benefactions,  to  the  Bible  cause. 
Many  in  pity  for  the  destitute,  and  many  from  simple  convic- 
tion of  obligation,  have  cast  in  their  gifts.  The  living  have 
bestowed  freely,  and  reaped  the  joy  of  the  incoming  harvest; 
while  others  have  provided  for  an  effective  remembrance  of 
their  love  for  the  Bible  and  deep  interest  in  the  perishing  when 
they  have  been  gathered  to  their  rest,  and  may  watch  at  the 


46 

JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

heavenly  portals  for  the  coming 

converts.     Large 

benefactions 

have  come ;   so  have 

many  a  thousand-multiplied 

farthings  of 

the  little  ones.     The 

illustrations 

have  been  beautiful  and  con- 

stant  of  what  Dr.  Chalmers  designated  "the  power  of  littles." 

I  shall  never  forget 

the  emphal 

:ic  statement  of 

Mr.  John  L. 

Nitchie,  long  the  General  Agent,  made  many  years  ago  at  a 

Bible  Anniversary  we   attended 

by   appointment,  that   "  our 

Bible  work  is  sustained  by  the 

sixpences  and  the  shillings." 

Our  auxiliaries  see 

this  constantly.     The  flowing 

in  of  these 

streams — these  many,  many  streams — has  done  for 

lis  wonderful 

things.     Let  us  look  at  the  footings  presented  by  decades : 

1st  year    1816-17  .    . 

.    $37,779  35 

llth  year  1826-27    . 

.    $60,194  13 

2d     "       1817-18  .    . 

.    .  36,564  30 

12th    "     1827-28    . 

.    .  75,879  93 

3d     "       1818-19  .    . 

.  53,223  94 

13th    "     1828-29    . 

.     101,426  72 

4th   "       1819-20  .    . 

.  41,361  97 

14th    "     1829-30    . 

.     143,449  81 

5th   "       1820-21  .    . 

.  47,009  20 

15th    "     1830-31    . 

.     116,900  74 

6th   "       1821-22  .    . 

.  40,682  34 

16th    "     1831-32    . 

.    .  86,875  18 

7th   "       1822-23  .    . 

.  52,021  75 

17th    "     1832-33     . 

:    .  83,556  03 

8th   "       1823-24  .    . 

.  42,416  95 

18th    "     1833-34    . 

.    .  86,537  63 

9th   "       1824-25  .    . 

.  44,833  08 

19th    "     1834-35    . 

.    .  98,306  29 

10th"       1825-26  .    . 

.  53,639  85 
$449,532  73 

20th    "     1835-36    . 

101,771  48 

$954,897  94 

21st  year  1836-37  .    . 

$83,259  79 

31st  year  1846-47    . 

$203,494  63 

22d     "     1837-38  .    . 

.  91,904  57 

32d     "     1817-48    . 

.251,804  68 

23d     "     1838-39  .    .    . 

.  79,545  24 

33d     "    1848-49    .    . 

236,428  94 

24th    "     1839-40   .    . 

.  94,880  24 

34th    "     1849-50    . 

284,459  59 

25th    "     1840-41  .    .    . 

116,485  05 

35th    "    1850-51    .    . 

276,882  53 

26th    "     1841-42  .    . 

132,637  08 

36th    "     1851-52   .    . 

308,744  81  • 

27th    "     1842-43  .    .    . 

124,728  77 

37th    "     1852-53    .    . 

346,542  42 

28th    "     1843-44  .    . 

153,678  05 

38th    "     1853-54    .    . 

394,340  50 

29th    "     1844-45  .    . 

159,738  68 

39th    "     1854-55    . 

316,767  09 

30th    "     1845-46  .    . 

196,182  48 
$1,233,039  95 

40th    "     1855-56    . 

393,167  25 

$3,042,632  44 

41st  year  1856-57  .    . 

.  $441,805  67 

$449,532  73 

42d      "     1857-58  .    . 

390,759  49 

2d       "        

954,897  94 

43d     "     1858-59  .     . 

415,011  37 

3d       "        .... 

1  233,039  95 

44th     "     1850-60 

.     435,956  92 

4th     "       .... 

3  042,632  44 

45th    "     1860-61   .    . 

.     389.541  52 

46th    "    1861-62  .    . 

378,132  08 

47th    "     1862-63  .    • 

422,588  00 

10,434,953  74 

48th    "     1863-64   .    . 

560,578  60 

49th    "     1864-65   .    . 

677,851  39 

50th    "     1865-66  .    . 

642,625  64 
$4,754,850  G8 

JUBILEE    MEMOEIAL.  47 

Here  you  see  the  agency  which  has  set  up  the  printing  press, 
multiplied  our  electrotype  plates,  and  has  sent  out  millions  of 
volumes  on  a  life  giving  errand.  Can  this  be  lost  ?  Ah,  it  is  all 
committed  to  the  gracious  One,  who  has  moved  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  and  who  has  said,  "  My  word  shall  not  return  unto 
me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  whereto  I  sent  it." 

5.  The  Christian  countenance  and  co-operation  enjoyed  is 
to  be  mentioned  as  one  of  the  special  sources  of  animating 
power.  How  trying  and  how  painful  is  it  to  work  alone! 
How  the  heart  sinks  when  without  sympathy,  without  a  word 
of  good  cheer !  How  hard  has  it  been  found  to  persevere,  even 
in  a  right  and  good  cause,  without  some  favouring  on-looker 
and  ally !  This  has  not  been  our  case.  Opposition  there  has 
been,  and  Bible  burning  there  has  been,  by  the  blind  followers 
and  tools  of  antichrist.  Infidelity  has  sneered  or  amused  itself 
with  our  Bible  fanaticism,  as  it  would  call  it.  But  from  a  cloud 
of  witnesses,  of  men  honoured  and  revered  in  the  records  of  the 
good,  the  great,  the  talented,  and  the  useful,  have  come  the 
words  of  good  cheer.  Ours  have  been  a  John  Quincy  Adams,  a 
Richard  Yarick,  a  De  Witt  Clinton,  a  Chancellor  Kent,  a  Judge 
M'Lean,  a  Bayard,  a  Van  Rensselaer,  a  Murray,  an  Irving,  a 
Butler,  a  Woodworth,  and  a  galaxy  of  others,  who  on  our  pub- 
lic occasions  have  borne  strong  and  animating  testimony  in 
behalf  of  our  great  enterprise.  Over  our  whole  land  the  voices 
of  representative  men  have  given  timely  impetus  to  the  work 
in  the  fields  occupied  by  our  auxiliaries.  While  the  clergy 
might  be  expected  to  throw  their  influence  into  the  Bible  cause, 
which  is  in  its  turn  their  most  efficient  ally,  and  have  been  our 
warm  and  earnestly  co-operating  friends,  from  all  the  professions 
have  come  the  same  strong  notes  of  encouragement.  From  the 
highest  positions  in  the  army  and  navy,  from  the  professoral 
chairs  in  our  colleges  and  universities,  from  the  counting  room 
and  the  shop,  from  the  bench  and  the  bar,  from  all  classes  and 
conditions,  there  has  been  but  one  strain — "  Go  forward ;  the 
work  is  of  God."  We  are  not  an  ecclesiastical  organization, 
and  propose  in  no  way  to  mingle  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  as  a 
society.  Our  prayer  is  for  the  prevalence  of  our  common  Chris- 
tianity over  the  whole  earth.     Whatever  may  be  our  private 


48  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

relations,  our  work  here  is  of  such,  a  character,  that  we  cannot 
but  be  affected  by  the  approbation  and  commendation  of  the 
brethren  of  the  denominations  represented  among  us.  ~VVe 
record  it  frankly,  that  we  and  our  co-labourers  are  moved  to 
greater  effort  by  the  favouring  action  of  General  Assemblies,  Syn- 
ods, Councils,  Conventions,  and  Associations.  We  feel  a  greater 
confidence  in  our  Cause ;  our  hearts  are  bound  more  firmly  to- 
gether in  its  promotion ;  we  tread  more  firmly  over  the  path  of 
difficulty :  we  rise  above  discouragements  more  easily,  as  the 
fathers  and  brethren  are  with  us. 

From  abroad  also  has  come  to  us  the  warm  greeting  and 
hearty  Christian  salutation.  Our  Board  in  its  first  Report  rec- 
ognises the  fact,  that  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  first 
called  attention  to  the  importance  of  an  American  National 
Society.  When  it  was  organized,  their  early  gifts  were  most 
opportune,  and  their  cordial  expressions  of  satisfaction  in  our 
expanding  operations  have  been  uniform  and  often  repeated. 
In  the  time  of  our  civil  strife,  apprehending  some  pressure  on 
our  means  of  usefulness  and  the  possible  curtailment  of  plans, 
they  generously  proffered  a  liberal  pecuniary  gift.  Their  kind 
countenance  has  combined  with  their  liberality  in  brightening 
and  strengthening  the  golden  links  of  union.  Co-labourers  on 
the  continental  field  echo  the  Jubilee  song  and  bid  us  "God 
speed."  All  this  and  such  as  this  along  our  entire  pathway, 
how  can  it  but  exhilarate,  and  give  new  energy,  and  call  out 
greater  effort  ? 

6.  Our  Agents  through  the  country  have  claims  on  our 
notice,  in  this  connexion,  of  no  ordinary  character,  as  they  have 
been  eminently  an  arm  of  power,  and  vigilant  watchers  over 
Bible  interests  every  where.  The  questions  have  been  earnestly 
discussed  in  various  directions,  whether  agents  were  not  instru- 
ments who  could  be  dispensed  with,  costing  more  than  they 
were  worth — mere  sinecures.  It  is  true,  any  good  plan  may  be 
abused ;  an  agent  may  be  a  burden  instead  of  a  blessing,  and 
there  may  be  an  unwarrantable  multiplication  of  them ;  and  of 
course,  then,  the  money  paid  them  is  wasted.  So  there  may  be 
cases  where  they  are  not  needed,  other  instruments  and  motive 
powers  being  properly  within  reach,  as  is  the  case  in  strictly 


JUBILEE     MEMORIAL.  49 

denominational  societies  and  boards.  But  with  all  deference 
we  say,  in  the  general  benevolent  organizations  they  are  neces- 
sary. In  such  cases,  there  is  nothing  like  the  denomination  tie 
to  employ.  Every  thing  is  on  the  broad  ground  of  usefulness 
and  taking  men  as  they  are,  and  not  as  they  should  be,  which 
we  must  do.  No  general  cause  can  flourish  without  carefully 
selected  agents.  There  is  great  force  in  the  adage  we  have 
heard  from  childhood,  "  What  is  everybody's  business  is  no- 
body's." The  wise  and  right  minded,  earnest  Agent  is  the  arm 
of  a  society,  felt  at  the  most  distant  parts  of  a  field  ;  he  is  a  con- 
stantly acting  spring ;  he  is  a  living  mnemonic  to  faulty  mem- 
ories ;  a  moral  express,  conveying  the  last  intelligence  concern- 
ing want  and  work;  he  is  the  substitute  for  many  good  men, 
who  are  so  pressed  with  other  matters,  yet  loving  the  good 
Cause,  that  they  are  ready  to  give  their  means  when  they  can- 
not give  their  time  ;  he  is  the  ally  of  the  pastor ;  his  office  is  the 
opposite  of  a  sinecure ;  he  holds  all  the  social  and  domestic  ties, 
with  all  their  tendernesses,  at  bay  for  his  work's  sake.  In 
many  a  section  of  our  country,  in  the  transition  from  the  wil- 
derness state,  he  goes  with  his  life  in  his  hand.  The  societies 
never  pamper  him  ;  and  hence  he  is,  in  effect,  not  unfrequently 
the  largest  contributor  to  a  good  cause ;  for  he  sustains  it  by  the 
greatest  sacrifices. 

Our  Society  has  had  and  still  has  its  Agents.  The  system 
grew  up  under  the  necessities  of  the  case,  and  it  has  thrived 
through  their  services.  Take  them  away,  and  the  good  Cause 
would  immediately  languish,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  decline 
would  be  in  proportion  as  its  parts  were  distant  from  the 
centre  of  interest  and  of  activity.  It  must  be  said,  and  it  is  said 
with  confidence,  concerning  our  Agents  as  a  body  (for  it  is  only 
as  such  that  we  can  on  this  occasion  speak  of  them),  they  have 
done  a  great  and  good  work  ;  they  have  built  up  the  Bible  cause 
in  many  a  place,  where  previously  not  a  movement  had  been 
made ;  they  have  kept  alive  interest  and  effort  when  they  began 
to  decline ;  they  have  revived  societies  which  seemed  ready  to 
die.  Theirs  it  has  been  to  investigate  wants  and  bring  home 
appeals  which  have  brought  out  the  needed  supplies.  The  plan 
on  which  our  agency  department  is  organized  is  very  simple ;  is 

4 


50  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

guarded  at  all  points ;  is  economical ;  is  effective.  We  owe  it, 
morally,  every  thing.  Let  us  look  at  one  month's  report ;  for  a 
faithful  record  of  work  done  is  kept,  and  has  been  from  the 
beginning.  Let  us  take  the  stormy  month  of  February  as  our 
specimen : 

During  the  month  of  February,  reports  were  received  from  thirty  of  the 
Agents  of  this  Society,  and  the  following  are  the  results  of  their  labours  : 
Agents  reporting,  30;  auxiliaries  and  committees  visited,  111  ;  meetings  held, 
191  ;  anniversaries  attended,  46;  auxiliaries  and  committees  organized,  33; 
sermons  and  addresses  delivered,  230 ;  letters  and  circulars  sent,  8,656 ;  miles 
travelled,  12,562;  amount  of  donations  collected  by  the  Agents,  $7,797  65; 
amount  received  by  them  from  the  sale  of  books,  $4,061  06  ;  amount  remitted 
by  them  to  the  Parent  Society,  $17;021  31  ;  amount  paid  by  them  into  the  treas- 
uries of  auxiliaries,  $2,465  78  ;  amount  of  subscriptions  secured,  $2,092  95 ; 
number  of  families  visited  in  their  fields,  24,001 ;  number  of  destitute  families 
found,  1,046;  number  of  destitute  families  supplied,  810  ;  number  of  destitute 
individuals  supplied,  115  ;  Sabbath  schools  supplied,  41  ;  volumes  circulated  by 
sale,  3,349;  by  donation,  2.068;  value  of  volumes  sold.  $3,687  70;  donated, 
$1,065  64.     Total  receipts  from  sales  and  donations,  $14,192  78. 

7.  To  the  Board  of  Managers  we  give  a  special  place  in  this 
enumeration. 

The  provision  of  the  Constitution  is  :  "A  Board  of  Managers 
shall  be  appointed  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  Society,  con- 
sisting of  thirty-six  laymen,"  etc.  "With  these,  various  clergy- 
men are  associated  in  most  of  the  Standing  Committees,  the 
Constitution  giving  ministers  who  are  life  members  "  the  same 
power  as  the  Manager  himself." 

The  clerical  representation  in  the  Committees  of  the  Board 
has  been  taken  from  all  the  denominations  participating  in  the 
Society,  and  has  been  composed  of  the  most  active  and  influen- 
tial men.  Their  time  and  attention  and  co-operation  have  been 
most  cheerfully  given,  and  their  wisdom  has  aided  much  in 
shaping  the  business  of  the  Board,  and  giving  life  and  energy  to 
the  whole  working  of  the  Institution.  The  speaker  may  say  of 
his  brethren,  that  in  the  whole  onward  progress  of  the  Society, 
they  have  constituted  an  indispensable  agency  for  good. 

The  Lay  Managers  can  scarcely  be  presented  too  strongly  in 
a  fair  account  of  the  instruments  which  have  built  up  the  Nation- 
al Bible  Society.     One  who  has  been  in  the  midst  of  them  for 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  51 

years,  and  has  known  many  of  them  personally,  and  attended 
their  deliberations  often  through  a  range  of  some  thirty  years, 
may  speak  of  what  he  knows  and  has  seen.  They  will  excuse 
me  for  saying  what  I  deem  due  without  asking  their  permission, 
and  of  course,  without  previous  knowledge  of  my  purpose. 

The  Society  was  very  happy  in  the  selections  of  its  first 
Board,  as  all  will  say  who  knew  the  men.  They  were  men  of 
practical  wisdom  ;  loving  the  Cause  for  its  own  sake.  Intelli- 
gent, able,  of  known  integrity,  and  selected  for  the  service  and 
having  the  confidence  of  all.  They  did  a  good  work  in  carrying 
the  infant  institution  through  its  weak  state  and  all  its  attend- 
ant perils,  to  a  condition  of  maturity  and  of  strength.  They 
have  gone  to  their  rest  and  their  reward,  not  one  remaining  to 
be  present  with  us  this  Jubilee.  But  they  bequeathed  their 
precious  charge  to  worthy  hands.  In  the  construction  of  the 
Board  of  Managers,  there  has  always  been  the  wisdom  of  age 
mingling  with  the  earnestness  of  vigorous  manhood;  they  have 
been  men  of  various  professions,  pursuits,  and  conditions, 
acquainted  with  the  world,  understanding  thoroughly  the  com- 
plications of  business,  intrusted  with  other  interests  of  high 
moment,  men  of  principle,  of  character,  of  piety,  placed  in  com- 
mittees for  which  their  pursuits  fitted  them.  They  have  been 
charged  with  heavy  responsibilities — most  momentous  issues 
were  pended  on  their  deliberations — their  hall  of  meeting  has 
been  a  Senate  Chamber. 

The  business  of  the  Society  very  early  developed  itself  in 
such  forms  as  to  require  modifications  of  the  first  plans,  and 
there  was  necessarily  a  division  of  labour.  The  Committees  are 
as  follows,  viz. :  on  Publication,  on  Finance,  on  Distribution, 
on  Agencies,  on  Anniversaries,  on  Versions,  on  Legacies,  an 
Auditing  Committee,  and  one  on  Nominations. 

By  the  plan  adopted,  every  subject  to  be  acted  on  passes 
through  the  careful  examination  of  its  appropriate  Committee, 
and  is  then  brought  before  the  whole  Board,  and  is  again  con- 
sidered fully,  if  deemed  necessary,  and  passed  upon.  When 
difficult  and  delicate  questions  are  to  be  considered,  they  are 
examined  by  larger  committees,  and  by  them  recommended  to 
the  Board  or  disapproved.    Calmness,  thoroughness,  impartiality, 


52  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

intelligence,  courtesy  reign.  In  the  Committee,  -whose  meet- 
ings are  monthly,  and  oftener  when  required,  the  same  fidelity 
has  reigned,  and  hours  have  been  necessary  to  do  the  work. 

For  this  work  all  the  affairs  of  a  man's  own  business  were 
laid  by  for  the  time — it  was  felt  to  be  a  solemn  while  it  was 
regarded  as  a  pleasant  duty  thus  to  be  engaged.  Thus,  men 
have  been  occupied  year  after  year,  and  the  grand  consideration 
has  been,  to  be  useful  in  the  cause  of  the  Bible  and  of  humanity, 
and  to  voluntary  services  they  have  liberally  added  of  their 
means  to  the  Bible  Treasury.  They  have  been  and  are  the 
main  spring  of  action,  while  they  are  ever  watchful  guardians 
and  conservators  of  right  action.  Without  such  a  Board  of 
Managers,  so  constituted,  so  animated,  the  great  work  never 
could  have  reached  its  present  magnificent  dimensions.  They 
are  the  men  under  God  who  have  made  us  what  we  are  as  an  In- 
stitution. I  beg  they  will  pardon  me  while  I  say,  Noble  men ! 
you  are  the  benefactors  of  millions  ;  we  honour  your  principles 
and  your  practice  in  this  behalf :  we  ask  for  you  the  richest  of 
blessings. 

8.  The  Presiding  and  Executive  auspices,  under  which  our 
onward  course  has  been  pursued,  claim  a  special  notice  at  this 
point,  may  I  not  say,  a  crowning  place  in  my  narrative  ? 

How  much  depends  on  having  a  proper  head — how  much  on 
having  a  presiding  mind — clear,  well  balanced,  intelligent, 
decided,  and  yet  complaisant,  possessed  of  sharp  discriminations, 
a  breadth  of  view  equal  to  the  actual  field  of  labour,  and  a  just- 
ness of  estimation  of  both  difficulties  and  encouragements  and 
of  the  means  of  adaptation  to  each ;  such  a  head  a  great  enter- 
prise demands. 

It  is  matter  of  grateful  note,  that  God  both  raises  up  men 
and  fits  them  for  exigencies.  This  was  eminently  verified  in  the 
organization  of  this  Society,  the  men  who  were  active  in  the 
work  being  the  men  for  the  time  and  for  the  great  enterprise 
to  be  undertaken.  Their  high  character  gave  interest  and  tone 
to  the  movement.  All  this  was  especially  true  of  the  men  who 
have  successively  presided  over  and  occupied  executive  places  in 
the  Board. 

All  eyes  and  hearts  were  turned  to  Elias  Boudinot  as  the 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 


first  President,  and  he  brought  to  the  office  a  mind  well  stored 
with  various  attainments — an  eminently  matured  character — a 
reputation,  acquired  in  offices  of  high  trust  and  responsibility 
interwoven  with  our  country's  most  critical  period,  without  a 
stain,  and  as  wide  as  our  country,  and  a  depth  and  warmth  of 
piety  which  was  as  characteristic  as  his  integrity  and  intelli- 
gence. Trained  to  the  law,  admitted  to  and  presiding  over 
Congress  in  the  final  act  which  gave  peace  and  an  acknowledged 
separate  nationality  to  our  country,  and,  having  served  his 
country  well,  he  gave  the  mellowness  of  his  life  to  the  direct 
promotion  of  the  spiritual  interests  of  his  fellow  men.  He  had 
already  been  long  in  the  fellowship  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  for  many  years  an  active 
Trustee,  and  at  twenty-five  years  of  age  made  its  Treasurer. 

On  retiring  from  civil  life,  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Bur- 
lington, 1ST.  J.  "  His  heart  expanding  with  the  noblest  principles 
of  Christian  benevolence,  he  contributed  liberally  to  institutions 
whose  objects  were  the  extension  of  literature  and  religion,  and 
his  name  is  cherished  among  them  as  a  munificent  benefactor." 
In  his  relation  as  President  of  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society 
(organized  in  1809),  he  had  seen  the  efficiency  of  united  effort, 
and  longed  and  laboured  most  earnestly  to  see  one  grand  cen- 
tral movement,  which  should  combine  all  the  separate  organi- 
zations in  the  country.  The  organization  of  the  American  Bible 
Society  was  one  of  the  happiest  events  of  his  life.  When  he 
was  chosen  to  be  its  first  President,  he  felt  that  he  had  received 
the  highest  honour  of  an  honoured  life. 

His  liberal  donations  to  the  Society  when  in  its  weakness 
placed  it  on  a  firm  foundation.  It  has  been  well  said  :  "  This 
splendid  moral  structure,  the  monument  of  the  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity of  the  nation,  is  also  in  a  special  sense  his  monument. 
A  nobler  one  no  man  can  have."  Distinguished  as  a  philanthro- 
pist, a  scholar,  a  patriot,  and  a  Christian,  he  passed  to  his  heav- 
enly rest,  after  a  pilgrimage  of  fourscore  and  one  years. 

The  venerable  Chief  Justice,  John  Jay,  the  First  Yice  Presi- 
dent, succeeded  to  the  Presidency,  and  it  may  be  truly  said,  his 
name  was  a  tower  of  strength.  He  was  devoted  to  his  country, 
but  even  more  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ.     It  was  in  the 


54  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

time  which  tried  men's  souls  that  he  entered  upon  public  life, 
and  though  not  mingling  in  the  conflicts  of  the  field,  he  won 
renown  in  the  equally  important  field  of  Congressional  action, 
where  he  became  the  presiding  mind,  and  with  a  noble  band 
gave  form  and  shape  to  its  deliberations  and  acts.  Wise  in  coun- 
sel, clear,  sound,  discriminating,  among  the  most  accomplished 
civilians  of  his  time,  he  was  the  man  to  represent  his  country 
abroad  at  any  of  the  courts  of  Europe,  and  take  an  active,  yes, 
a  leading  part  in  the  most  delicate  missions.  A  native  New 
Yorker,  he  had  at  heart  the  interests  of  this  commonwealth,  and 
sought  her  welfare  and  gave  the  form  of  her  first  Constitu- 
tion, whose  principles  it  were  well  if  now  in  many  respects 
possessed.  Descended  from  the  persecuted  Huguenots,  as 
was  Boudinot,  he  drank  in  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  a  free 
Christianity  with  his  earliest  breath.  Having  served  his  country 
well,  he  retired  to  the  quietness  and  simple  charms  of  rural  life 
at  Bedford,  Westchester  County,  1ST.  Y.,  and  to  religious  culture 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  We  cannot 
but  think  of  him  as  the  Christian  Sage,  as  in  his  retirement  'he 
gave  himself  to  the  study  of  God's  Holy  Word,  which  had 
been  his  "  songs  in  the  house  of  his  pilgrimage,"  and  in  his 
golden  evening  of  a  varied  life  was  his  chief  comfort  and  joy. 
His  infirm  state  of  health  prevented  his  attendance  at  the  anni- 
versaries, but  his  addresses  sent  from  his  Patmos  (I  had  almost 
said),  full  of  love,  breathing  the  true  Christian  spirit,  minister- 
ing the  soundest  counsel,  were  inspiriting.  There  was  a  moral 
power  in  his  character  which  gave  power  to  his  words. 

The  year  of  his  resignation,  in  consequence  of  his  advanced 
age,  was  one  of  solemn  monition  and  bereavement  to  the  Bible 
cause.  Yice  Presidents  Tilghman,  Worthington,  Phillips,  and 
DeWitt  Clinton,  whose  great  influence  was  given  to  the  Cause, 
were  gathered  to  their  fathers.  Had  the  last  survived,  he 
would  probably  have  succeeded  Mr.  Jay  in  the  chair  which  he 
occupied  with  dignity  and  eloquence  at  the  Anniversary  of  1827. 

But  the  same  Providence  which  gave  the  first  and  second 
Presidents  gave  us  Iiichard  Yarick  as  the  third,  who  had  been 
our  first  Treasurer  and  the  first  President  of  the  New  York  Sun- 
day School  Union,  one  of  the  most  honoured  and  honourable 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  55 

men  of  our  day.  It  deserves  our  special  notice,  that  our  first 
three  Presidents  were  heroes  of  the  Revolution — one  in  civil  life, 
two  in  connexion  with  the  army,  and  one  of  these  (the  last)  a 
participant  in  the  hard  service  of  the  battle  field.  It  is  true 
then  that  the  distinguished  soldier  may  be  also  the  distinguished 
Christian. 

Colonel  Varick  was  of  Holland  descent,  a  Btock  which  knew 
the  horrors  of  persecution  for  conscience'  sake,  and  learnt  in  the 
death  of  an  army  of  martyrs,  as  the  Huguenots  did,  the  value  of 
a  free  Gospel  and  an  open  Bible.  Colonel  Varick  early  entered 
the  army  as  Captain  of  the  First  New  York,  and  was  advanced 
rapidly  to  positions  of  responsibility,  and  became  and  continued 
for  years  a  most  beloved  member  of  Washington's  military 
family.  He  was  a  man  of  great  dignity  of  person,  with  great 
kindness  of  manner,  of  marked  business  and  executive  ability, 
of  large  heart,  of  firm  purpose,  of  the  sternest  integrity,  of  strong 
and  controlling  love  for  the  cause  of  piety  and  of  all  good  men. 
He  gave  the  whole  weight  of  his  social  position,  of  his  character, 
of  his  liberality,  and  of  his  piety,  to  the  advancement  of  the 
Bible  cause.  He  died  in  the  occupancy  of  his  office  in  his 
seventy-ninth  year. 

The  distinguished  John  Cotton  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  of 
direct  Puritan  descent,  one  of  the  Vice  Presidents  from  the 
organization  of  the  Society  (the  first  President  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Bible  Society,  formed  in  1809),  wTas  chosen  as  the  fourth  Pres- 
ident of  the  American  Bible  Society.  His  position  was  among 
the  first  men  of  the  land.  Esteemed  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished gentlemen  in  the  performance  of  his  various  public  trusts 
as  a  judge,  a  Congressional  representative,  a  State  executive,  he 
crowned  all  with  eminent  piety.  The  year  1810  witnessed  the 
organization  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions,  an  institution  whose  blessed  influence  has  been  felt 
over  all  lands,  and  is  destined  to  be  recognised  as  the  most  effi- 
cient agency  in  our  land  in  bringing  on  "  the  latter  day  glory." 
In  its  success,  Governor  Smith  felt  the  greatest  interest.  In 
1S23  he  became  its  Vice  President,  and  in  1826  its  President, 
and  continued  such  till  18-11.  He  occupied  for  many  years, 
with  winning  grace  of  manner,  the  two  positions  of  President 


56  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

of  two  of  the  most  important  institutions  of  the  day.  It  was  his 
privilege  to  see  both  rise  from  small  beginnings  to  great  strength, 
and  the  promise  opening  to  both  of  a  most  successful  future. 
During  thirty  years  connexion  with  Bible  work,  he  had  seen 
those  whose  place  was  beside  him  in  office  pass  away,  and  of  the 
thirty-six  Managers,  only  a  few  remaining.  He  was  spared  to 
see  fourscore  years  and  one,  and  to  enjoy  all  the  supports  and 
consolations  of  religion  in  his  declining  days.  His  memory  is 
tenderly  cherished. 

It  was  a  kind  Providence  who  gave  us  in  April,  1846,  as  our 
next  President,  the  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  then  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Few  men 
have  so  widely  and  so  tenderly  endeared  themselves  to  every 
circle  with  which  connected  as  did  he.  Gifted  with  a  most 
kindly  and  generous  temperament — intelligent,  frank,  confiding 
and  pure  in  all  his  principles,  the  friend  of  all ;  it  seemed  as  if  all 
were  his  friends.  Bred  a  lawyer,  he  rose  to  the  first  rank  in  his 
profession  in  his  native  State,  New  Jersey,  and  representing  her 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  when  it  embraced  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  greatest  m*en  our  country  has  produced,  he  won  the 
highest  respect  for  his  devotion  to  noble  causes  and  his  marked 
Christian  character.  It  was  his  delight  to  be  actively  engaged 
in  doing  good  to  his  fellow  men,  and  accordingly,  all  the  great 
institutions  of  the  day  received  his  warm  support,  wThile  his  Sab- 
baths were  given  to  the  Bible  class.  It  was  a  suitable  testimony 
to  his  character  and  his  executive  ability,  that  he  wras  for  six- 
teen years  President  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  succeeding  Governor  Smith  ;  for  six  years 
(from  1842  to  1848)  President  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
and  for  sixteen  years  President  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
and  as  such,  closed  his  earthly  career.  For  forty-five  years  he 
had  illustrated  the  excellence  of  the  Gospel,  in  a  harmonious  and 
beautiful  Christian  life,  and  enjoyed  at  its  close  perfect  peace. 

His  name  and  character  are  familiar  and  dear  in  all  the 
churches  of  our  land,  and  his  removal  was  felt  to  be  a  great 
public  loss. 

The  Hon.  Luther  Bradish,  connected  with  the  Episcopal 
Church,  one   of    the  Yice  Presidents,  was    chosen  to  fill  the 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  57 

vacancy  in  18G2.  During  several  years  after  his  predecessor 
had  removed  to  New  Brunswick,  to  become  the  President  of 
Rutgers  College,  he  presided  at  the  monthly  meetings  of  the 
Board,  and  proved  himself  an  admirable  Chairman  ;  indeed,  of 
all  the  Presidents  he  would  be  called  the  great  parliamentarian. 
He  gave  himself  most  earnestly  and  devotedly  to  the  business  of 
the  Society,  and  by  a  most  happy  combination  of  dignity  and 
urbanity  gave  interest  to  all  our  meetings,  and  secured  great 
despatch  in  our  business. 

Less  known  among  the  churches  generally  than  his  prede- 
cessors, he  was,  where  known,  esteemed  a  truly  Christian  man ; 
liberal  in  his  views  and  loving  all  good  men,  and  freely  mingling 
in  the  interchange  of  Christian  courtesies.  In  his  political  career 
and  in  charge  of  high  civil  trusts,  as  a  legislator  and  citizen,  he 
won  the  confidence  of  all.  He  has  left  his  mark  in  the  various 
business  interests  of  the  Board. 

He  was  not  spared  to  us  long  as  our  presiding  officer.  In 
1863,  in  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Board  in  August,  he  per- 
formed his  last  public  service,  and  left  us  to  close  his  life  at 
Newport,  R.  I.,  at  eighty  years  of  age. 

"  It  is  a  striking  fact,  in  the  lives  of  the  Presidents  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  that  they  all  reached  such  advanced 
ages  with  dignity  and  usefulness.  Boudinot  died  aged  eighty- 
one  years ;  Jay,  eighty-four ;  Varick,  seventy-eight  ;  Smith, 
eighty-one  ;  Frelinghuysen,  seventy-five ;  Bradish,  eighty  ;"  all 
of  them  men  of  mark. 

But  not  these  alone  are  to  be  regarded  as  our  commenda- 
tions to  lovers  of  Bible  diffusion — their  moral  excellence  being 
part  of  our  capital.  Close  to  them  are  to  be  placed  the  distin- 
guished Secretaries,  who  have  been  the  pilots  of  our  richly 
freighted  craft  through  its  onward  course.  The  following  have 
served  in  that  office,  viz. :  Rev.  J.  M.  Mason,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  J.  B. 
Romeyn,  D.D. ;  John  Pintard,  LL.D. ;  Rev.  James  Milner, 
D.D.;  Rev.  S.  S.  Woodhull,  D.D.;  Rev.  Thomas  M'Auley, 
D.D.,  LL.D. ;  Rev.  Charles  G.  Somers ;  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs, 
D.D. ;  Rev.  John  C.  Brigham,  D.D. ;  Robert  F.  Winslow,  Esq. ; 
Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  Edmund  S.  Janes,  D.D. ; 
Rev.  Noah  Levings,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  S.  Ireneus  Prime,  D.D. ;  Rev. 


58  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

Joseph   Holdich,  D.D. ;   Rev.   Joseph   C.    Stiles,   D.D. ;   Rev. 
James  H.  M'Neill ;  and  Rev.  fm.  J.  R.  Taylor,  D.D.* 

The  earliest  performed  their  work  without  compensation, 
being  pastors  at  the  same  time,  but  soon  it  was  found  that  the 
proper  accomplishment  of  the  rapidly  growing  work  demanded 
the  entire  time  of  the  Secretaries,  and  that  they  must  be  sustain- 
ed by  the  Society.  Circumstances  required  also  that  the  num- 
ber should  be  increased,  and  this  was  but  the  evidence  of  the 
Society's  prosperity.  It  is  not  praise,  but  the  simple  statement 
of  fact  to  say,  they  were  strong  men.  The  churches  to  which 
they  were  attached  gave  them  their  high  position  before  they 
came  to  us,  and  what  they  had  and.  what  they  were  was  given 
to  our  service.  They  have  pleaded  our  Cause  through  the  land  ; 
they  have  kept  a  vigilant  eye  over  all  our  interests  at  home  and 
abroad  ;  they  have  been  our  medium  of  connexion  with  all  the 
actors  and  co-operators  in  our  work ;  they  have  cheered  the  dis- 
heartened, they  have  revived  the  declining ;  they  have  mapped 
out  the  field  of  work  for  all ;  they  have  been  always  ready, 
always  pressing  on,  and  in  a  sense,  carrying  us  with  them.  The 
documents  prepared  by  them,  the  appeals  and  addresses  made  by 
them,  diffused  every  where,  the  various  guides  and  manuals 
written  by  them  for  every  branch  of  service,  the  constant  work 
with  all  the  Committees,  their  vast  correspondence,  their  quar- 
terly extracts,  their  monthly  records  of  the  progress  of  the 
Cause,  so  many  monthly  telegrams  sent  through  our  Bible  con- 
nexions, constitute  a  great  body  of  Bible  Society  literature. 
Some  of  them  have  gone  to  their  reward  in  the  Master's  pres- 
ence, others  have  gone  to  other  departments  of  Christian  labour 
and  responsibility  where  blessings  attend  them.t  Theirs  has 
been  ever  a  great  lever  power. 

IV.  And  now,  standing  on  the  verge  of  the  half  century, 
what  are  our  Prospects  f 

We  have  reached  a  point  of  intelligent  observation.  With 
all  our  experiences,  our  tests  of  principles,  our  success  in  over- 
coming difficulties,  our  knowledge  of  our  reliances,  our  multi- 

*  Since  the  Sermon  was  preached,  Rev.  T.  Ralston  Smith  has  been  chosen  Secretaiy. 
t  See  Appendix  (E.) 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  59 

plied   appliances,  we   are  qualified  to  make  estimates  for  the 
future. 

To  the  inquiry,  What  are  our  prospects,  what  is  before  us  ? 
The  outlook  gives  a  definite,  clear  answer ;  it  is  that  there  is 
work  to  be  done — a  great  work,  a  glorious  work,  to  be  done.  Let 
not  any  be  startled  at  this  announcement.  It  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  privilege,  as  a  blessing,  that  there  is  work  for  us  all  to  do. 
Our  Christian  benefactions  furnish  the  best  training  school  for 
all  the  better  feelings  of  the  heart,  while  they  bring  to  us  a  pres- 
ent sweet  reward.  Alas  for  us  when  the  Master  has  no  more 
work  for  us.  It  will  be  the  omen  of  a  denial  by  Him  ;  it  will  be 
the  keenest  rebuke  to  our  past  unfaithfulness  if  Pie  refuse  us  a 
place  among  his  workers.  "What  a  thought  it  would  be  that  He 
has  no  further  use  for  us ! 

In  this  department  of  Christian  labour,  work  can  never  be 
said  to  be  done.  The  missionary  may  reach  a  point  where  he 
may  be  able  to  retire  from  his  labour  in  a  given  section,  as  he 
may  have  seen  his  work  crowned  with  such  a  succession  of  bless- 
ings, that  he  may  commit  it  to  native  Christians  and  native 
preachers  and  pastors.  Not  so  with  us, ;  paradoxical  as  it  may 
be,  our  work  is  always  done  and  always  yet  to  be  done ;  that  is, 
while  we  satisfy  present  calls,  others  will  constantly  rise  and 
press  us.  Populations  with  us  are  constantly  changing,  not 
only  in  the  natural  course  of  generation  coming  after  generation 
in  the  same  region,  but  by  the  flowing  out  of  multitudes  over, 
what  is  at  a  given  time,  new  territory.  Thus  new  fields  are 
constantly  in  preparation  for  Bible  work,  and  this  tide  of  out- 
flow through  the  discovery  of  new  mineral  lands  is  destined  to 
be  greatly  increased. 

It  is  but  a  decade  of  years  since  the  older  portions  of  our 
land  were  by  one  grand  movement  supplied,  and  yet  from 
the  whole  range  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  and  Northwestern 
States,  the  intelligence  meets  us  of  the  necessity  of  repeating  the 
process.  Where  it  would  be  little  thought  true,  the  number  of 
families  without  the  Sacred  Scriptures  is  painfully  large.  It 
seems  that  the  statements  which  years  since  stirred  every  heart 
may  be  repeated  to  the  letter,  and  be  true.  We  cannot  wonder 
at  this ;  new  multitudes  have  grown  to  maturity  and  entered  on 


60  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

family  responsibilities ;  accessions  have  come  in  largely  from 
other  lands,  and  calls  for  these  are  independent  of  the  loss  of 
the  Sacred  Volume  by  carelessness,  by  wear  and  tear,  and  by 
calamity.  All  this  relates  to  a  portion  of  the  land  where  the 
direct  conflicts  and  ravages  of  war  have  not  come. 

What  must  be  the  wants  where  war,  always  horrible, 
even  when  just,  has  trodden  with  iron  hoof  and  crushing 
power !  Every  traveller,  every  returning  tourist  fills  our  hearts 
with  sorrow  and  awakens  our  sympathy  by  the  account  of  for- 
tunes gone  ;  poverty  and  consequent  distress  reigning,  sanctua- 
ries burned,  homes  desolated.  In  all  this,  how  fares  the  Bible  ? 
However  prized,  can  it  alone  be  saved  ?  Np ;  it  goes  in  the 
common  ruin.  Look  every  where  over  the  Southern  country, 
and  you  see  fields  inviting  most  earnest  labour,  and  hearts  long- 
ing for  it  and  thankful  for  it.  And  this  is  the  most  uniting 
work  we  can  do.  The  Politician  and  the  Statesman  are  busy 
with  the  discussion  of  modes  of  reconstruction,  and  we  are  all 
interested  in  it:  but  here  we  have  the  means  of  winning 
hearts  and  annealing  the  broken  parts  in  love ;  it  is  a  Chris- 
tian reconstruction — not  less  valuable  and  effective,  because  it  is 
unostentatious  and  without  the  flourish  of  trumpets. 

War  has  broken  down  every  barrier  and  given  us  access  to 
millions  to  whom  this  Sacred  Word  is  the  most  precious  of  boons. 
The  millions  of  Freedmen,  made  such  by  the  results  of  war, 
stretch  out  to  us  their  imploring  hands.  Their  need  is  urgent 
in  proportion  to  their  former  condition.  Many  had  access  to  a 
degree  of  religious  privileges,  but  the  great  mass  were  in  dark- 
ness. Now,  the  way  is  fully  open  to  do  them  good,  and  by 
Christian  processes  fit  them  for  the  Divine  will  concerning 
them.  We  look  forward  with  hope  concerning  them  ;  but  that 
hope  is  interwoven  with  the  fidelity  of  those  who  may  bless, 
them  with  the  means  of  Christian  improvement  and  elevation. 

Our  Board  at  its  recent  meeting,  the  closing  one  of  the 
Jubilee  year,  declared  its  policy  as  to  the  new  half  century ;  it 
comprehends  the  full  occupation  and  cultivation  of  the  Ameri- 
can field.     What  a  glorious  work  it  will  be  !* 

But  this  is  not  all.     We  cannot  intermit ;  no,  we  must  in- 

*  See  Appendix  (F.) 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  61 

crease,  if  possible,  a  hundredfold  our  work  abroad.  What  has 
been  done  seems  but  the  beginning ;  it  is  but  a  mere  impression 
on  the  sad  conditions  of  the  pagan  world.  The  millions  we 
speak  of  on  our  own  continent  are  a  mere  fraction  of  needy 
humanity  in  comparison  with  the  hundreds  of  millions  who 
have  no  message  of  mercy,  who  have  no  "Word  of  Life.  The 
mind  is  overwhelmed  and  the  heart  bleeds  as  we  dwell  on 
the  details  furnished  by  the  faithful  missionary,  the  herald  of 
their  wants. 

To  these  millions  we  are  most  solemnly  bound  by  the 
pledges  of  the  past.  We  cannot  withdraw  our  hand  from  the 
undertakings  now  in  their  infancy.  We  stand  committed  to  the 
Christian  labourers  now  at  the  various  outposts  of  Christian 
civilization,  and  along  the  frontier  line  committed  to  Christian- 
ity, committed  to  us  by  God.  But  there  is  no  thought  of  draw- 
ing back — if  there  were,  the  shades  of  our  fathers  in  the  Bible 
work  would  rebuke  us  as  unfaithful  stewards  in  charge  of  the 
highest  of  trusts.  The  keen  rebuke,  mingled  with  pity,  would 
come  to  us  from  a  thousand  associated  Christian  labourers  in 
other  lands,  who  have  followed  our  onward  course  with  admir- 
ing love,  and  who  send  us  their  hearty  greeting  at  our  Jubilee. 

Here  then  is  work — most  blessed  work.  One  of  old  wept 
because  he  had  no  more  worlds  to  conquer ;  but  ours  are  to  be 
tears,  because  the}7  are  so  many  parts  of  this  vast  world,  after  a 
work  of  fifty  years,  which  are  still  unblest  with  the  Word  of 
Life;  so  many  worlds  of  differing  peoples  for  the  truth  yet 
to  conquer. 

But  here  is  nothing  to  discourage  or  lead  us  to  falter  a 
moment.  We  are  in  a  condition  to  do  a  greater  work  than 
ever.  Our  facilities  are  many  and  are  admirable.  The  manner 
in  which  the  pressure  of  the  last  five  years  has  been  met  satis- 
fies every  one  that  our  capabilities  are  equal  to  any  emergency 
which  in  almost  any  circumstances  can  occur.  Divine  Provi- 
dence has  fostered  us  and  cherished  us  into  such  a  degree  of 
strength,  that  we  may  be  ready  to  respond  to  any  call.  This 
has  been  his  design  in  all  He  has  done. 

The  fathers  in  the  Bible  work  had,  as  they  thought,  large 
views ;  and  so  they  had.     But  scarcely  one  probably  took  into 


G2  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

his  earnest  anticipation  what  has  been  done.  More  than  ever  is 
there  force  in  the  maxim  :  "  Expect  great  things ;  attempt  great 
things."  We  as  the  simple,  natural  employment  of  our  internal 
power  cannot  say  what  may  not  be  done  in  coming  years. 

Add  to  our  facilities  our  hearty  co-labourers,  and  what  en- 
couragement comes  from  this  view.  There  is  no  doubt  or 
uncertainty  here.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  common  fidelity, 
not  of  utmost  ability.  We  are  told  of  5,232  Bible  societies  and 
associations  linked  in  common  loving  bonds  in  our  Cause. 
What  an  army  of  giving,  praying  hearts  is  here.  If  these  do 
their  duty,  is  not  here  the  arm  of  all  moving  power?  What  is 
too  great  a  work  for  our  National  Society  with  such  a  reliance  ? 
Yes,  and  this  co-operating  army  is  not  limited  by  the  present ; 
instead  of  the  fathers  come  up  the  children,  born  to  this  work. 
But  above  all,  who  does  not  see  that  this  is  GocVs  work  which  is 
before  us,  a  work  for  the  good  of  men  ;  but  above  all,  a  work  for 
his  glory?  May  we  not  ask  and  look  for  his  blessing?  His 
past  kindness  sheds  a  heavenly  radiance  over  the  future.  It 
puts  into  our  lips  the  inquiry,  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  God? 
Is  then  any  thing  too  rich  for  Him  to  dispense,  any  thing  too 
rich  to  diffuse  over  the  vast  field  from  which  he  is  gathering  the 
thronging  family  of  the  Redeemer?  He  has  said;  "Open  thy 
mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it."  He  has  not  brought  this  Chris- 
tian enterprise  so  far  to  forsake  it. 

My  Brethren,  ours  have  been  contemplations  of  a  peaceful 
work,  but  we  should  take  into  our  account,  that  we  have 
enemies  to  encounter  in  the  conflict  in  which  the  Word,  "  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,"  is  the  only  reliance. 

There  stands  before  us  antichrist,  grim,  hoary,  sending 
out  his  emissaries  as  of  old,  breathing  the  same  spirit  and 
ready  to  imbrue  his  hands  in  blood  (were  he  not  withheld  by 
the  conventionalities  of  a  Christian  civilization),  as  the  bloody 
scenes  at  Barletta  in  Italy,  under  the  fierce  denouncements 
of  ecclesiastical  firebrands,  brought  to  us  within  a  few 
weeks,  attest. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  a  trial  of  strength  of  Protestant 
Christianity  with  Romanism  is  to  be  one  of  the  great  events  of 
the  age,  and  that  the  encroachments  of  Romanism  and  its  aim 


JUBILEE    MEMORIAL.  63 

at  consolidation  in  our  own  country  tend  to  hasten  it.  Let  it 
be  so  ;  only  let  the  Word  of  God  go  forth  to  the  people ;  let  it  go 
unshackled,  and  the  result  will  be  glorious  for  a  pure  evangel- 
ism. Popery  has  never  been  able  to  stand  before  an  open,  free 
Bible.  Hence  the  studied  efforts  and  the  exercise  of  a  ghostly 
authority  to  keep  the  Word  of  God  from  the  people,  and  the 
hostility  to  hear  it  merely  read  in  the  schools. 

Some  are  startled  by  the  increase  of  Romanists  in  our  land ; 
they  need  not  be,  for  it  can  be  readily  accounted  for  by  reference 
to  accessions  by  emigration  and  by  natural  increase.  The  gain 
from  Protestantism,  though  displayed  with  a  flourish,  is  insignifi- 
cant as  a  whole,  and  limited  mostly  to  pupils  in  Papal  schools 
and  various  educational  houses,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Bible  has  won  multitudes  to  the  true  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  whom  no  society  record  has  published  to  the  world.  In 
this  conflict  of  truth  with  error,  "  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are 
not  carnal,"  no  civil  enactment  is  asked,  no  pains  and  penalties, 
but  simply  to  let  the  Word  go  free  and  the  individual  conscience 
to  be  unshackled.  We  see  then  what  in  the  coming  years  must 
be  the  work  of  every  Bible  society,  and  of  every  member  of  the 
evangelical  churches  in  our  land. 

But  the  enemy  seeks  to  carry  his  unhallowed  end  under  the 
garb  of  science,  and  even  in  official  religious  robes  to  pare  away 
the  carved  work  of  the  Temple  of  Revelation,  and  undermine  its 
claim  to  Divine  origin.  Solemn  obligations  and  subscriptions 
are  violated  in  the  effort,  and  the  common  considerations  which 
bind  men  are  disregarded.  Let  infidelity,  in  whatever  garb,  do 
its  work ;  only  send  the  simple  Word  of  Truth  abroad,  and  it 
will  hold  its  own  and  prevail.  The  Bible  is  its  own  witness ;  its 
amazing  adaptations  bring  it  very  near  to  the  hearts  of  a  sorrow- 
ing, sin-stricken  race.  There  is  about  it,  and  in  it  and  its  acces- 
sories, that  which  impresses  the  mind  with  the  idea  of  its 
divinity1. 

If  these  two  forms  of  opposition  are  to  contest  the  control  of 
the  mind  of  the  coming  generations,  the  course  of  duty  is  made 
very  plain  and  urgent ;  it  is,  to  place  the  Bible  in  whole  or  in 
part  in  every  man's  hand,  and  we  need  not  a  prophet  to  tell  the 
result.     The  past  has  made  the  record.     The  Word  of  Life  has 


64:  JUBILEE    MEMORIAL. 

been  attacked  by  keen  minds ;  it  lias  encountered  fierce  oppo- 
sition in  every  age,  and  now,  though  the  mode  of  attack  has 
assumed  new  forms,  the  Rock  will  be  found  immoveable  ;  only 
let  those  who  love  the  Bible  do  their  duty.  The  God  of  the 
Bible  is  with  his  own  Word. 

My  Brethren : — From  the  morning  of  Thursday  next,  we 
enter  upon  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  National  Bible 
Institution,  and  in  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  with 
every  thing  to  encourage  and  call  out  energy.  A  solemn, 
touching  scene  occurred  at  the  closing  meeting  of  the  Board's 
work  on  Thursday  last.  There  stood  a  venerable  surviving 
clerical  member  of  the  convention  which  formed  the  Society 
(one  of  the  last  two),  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring.  There  were  gath- 
ered about  him  many  impressing  circumstances ;  advanced 
far  on  in  his  journey  to  the  better  land,  a  most  faithful  friend 
of  the  Cause — infirm,  his  heart  overflowing  with  Christian 
love,  standing  where  he  had  often  stood,  in  tender  tone  lie 
told  us  of  those  who  were  gone  with  whom  he  had  laboured ;  he 
uttered  himself  as  feeling  as  if  this  were  his  last  meeting  with 
the  Board ;  it  was  the  half  century  just  ending,  giving  its  last 
counsel  to  the  half  century  just  entering  /  its  plea  was  for  the 
work  to  be  done.  Touching,  solemn  appeal !  shall  not  we  hear 
it  whose  heads  blossom  with  the  evidences  of  threescore  years  ? 
Shall  not  the  mature  and  vigorous  hear  it  ?  Shall  not  they 
just  putting  on  the  harness  of  labour  hear  it?  Before  God  are 
we  not  ready  to  say,  We  hear  it,  we  will  heed  it?  In  a  few 
days  the  Jubilee  call  will  gather  in  solemn  meeting  a  great 
assemblage  of  friends  and  co-labourers,  who  will  come  from  the 
North  and  the  South,  from  the  East  and  the  West,  to  bear  their 
gladsome  testimony  to  the  kindness  and  abounding  blessing  of 
the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  shall  it  not  be  also  for  solemn  conse- 
cration to  the  work  now  so  widely  inviting  our  efforts?  God 
grant  it  may  be  so,  and  add  his  crowning  blessing,*  and 
To  Him  shall  be  all  the  Glory. 


*  See  Appendix  (G.) 


APPENDIX. 


(A)  Samuel  J.  Mills  was  a  remarkable  man,  and  was  made  in  the 
providence  of  God  a  most  honoured  instrument  in  the  advancement  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  thereby  blessing  his  fellow  men.  He  was  born  in 
1783  of  pious  parents  (his  father  being  a  clergyman),  at  Torringford,  in  Con- 
necticut. He  enjoyed  the  faithful  instruction  and  pious  care  of  his  excellent 
parents  for  some  sixteen  years,  when  he  left  home  for  the  purposes  of  edu- 
cation. In  his  fifteenth  year,  he  was  awakened  to  a  proper  consideration 
of  his  condition  as  a  sinner  in  the  time  of  a  wide  spread  revival,  and  for 
two  years  was  the  subject  of  a  most  unhappy  state  of  mind.  When  he 
"found  peace  in  believing"  and  "rejoiced  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God," 
his  feeling,  as  expressed  to  his  father,  was,  "that  he  could  not  conceive  of 
any  course  of  life  in  which  to  pass  the  rest  of  his  days,  that  was  so  pleas- 
ant as  to  go  and  communicate  the  Gospel  salvation  to  the  poor  heathen ;" 
and  this  was  in  harmony  with  his  pious  mother's  aim  concerning  him  from 
his  birth.  From  that  hour,  his  whole  life  had  one  direction,  as  was  shown 
in  his  studies,  his  associations,  his  reading,  his  labours.  God  honoured  him 
early  as  an  instrument  of  good  to  his  fellow  men,  as  when  in  college  a 
precious  visitation  of  mercy  was  granted  in  connexion  with  his  Christian 
faithfulness  and  prayers.  He  soon  unbosomed  himself  to  his  fellow  students, 
who  became  distinguished  missionaries  afterwards  :  Gordon  Hall  and  James 
Richards,  for  many  years  in  India.  Soon  others  joined  the  little  group, 
and  by  the  hay  stack,  in  a  meadow  near  Williams  College,  in  prayer  and 
fasting,  they  prepared  for  their  life  work.  The  result  in  Divine  providence 
was,  the  formation  of  a  society  of  Inquiry  in  their  own  college,  and  similar 
societies  in  other  colleges  and  in  theological  seminaries,  and  at  length,  the 
formal,  solemn  offer  of  themselves  to  be  sent  to  the  heathen,  by  the  General 
Association  of  Massachusetts  Proper,  in  June,  1810.  Very  soon  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  formation  of  the  American  Board,  and  a  goodly  company, 
influenced  largely  by  the  earnest  appeals  of  Mr.  Mills,  embarked  under  its 
auspices  for  the  highest  work  of  the  Church,  bearing  the  Gospel  of  salva- 
tion to  the  perishing. 

After  his  licensure,  Mr.  Mills  mingled  largely  with  Christian  men, 
clergymen,  and  laymen,  in  every  proper  form,  and  with  earnest,  winning, 
and  simple  manner  urging  on  various  forms  of  Christian  effort.  Dr.  Griffin, 
President  of  Williams  College,  said:  "I  have  been  in  situations  to  know, 
that  from  the  counsels  formed  in  that  sacred  conclave  (referring  to  the  meet- 
ings of  Mills  and   Ins  little   company  for  prayer   and  conference),  or  from 

5 


QQ  APPENDIX. 

the  mind  of  Mills  himself,  arose  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  the  American  Bible  Society,  the  United  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  the  African  School,  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  besides  all  the  impetus  given  to  the  Domestic 
Missions,  to  the  Colonization  Society,  and  to  the  general  cause  of  benevo- 
lence in  both  hemispheres."  He  then  adds  :  "  If  I  had  any  instrumentality 
in  originating  any  of  these  measures,  I  here  publicly  declare,  that  in  every 
instance  I  received  the  first  impulse  from  Samuel  John  Mills." 

To  the  interests  of  Africa  he  gave  himself  finally.  On  the  16th  of  No- 
vember, 1817,  he  left  his  home  as  an  Agent  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society,  and  when  arrived  at  his  field  of  labour,  he  was  occupied  with  un- 
wearied efforts  in  the  way  of  frequent  and  protracted  conferences  with  the 
native  kings  along  the  coast  to  accomplish  his  object — that  of  opening  a 
way  for  the  settlement  of  coloured  emigrants  from  this  country. 

It  was  his  last  work.  Having  fully  prepared  the  way  for  the  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  he  left  Sierra  Leone  on  his  return  voyage;  was  taken  ill 
while  at  sea,  and  after  a  conflict  of  nearly  a  fortnight  with  disease,  he 
was  called  home.  He  gently  closed  his  hands  on  his  breast  as  if  to  en- 
gage in  some  act  of  devotion,  and  while  a  celestial  smile  settled  upon  his 
countenance,  and  every  feature  expressed  the  serenity  and  meekness  of 
his  soul,  he  ceased  to  breathe.  uNo  monumental  marble  records  his  worth;" 
his  monuments  are  the  great  and  blessed  agencies  he  was  so  largely  instru- 
mental in  organizing,  and  while  they  live,  his  memory  lives. 


APPENDIX. 


67 


(B)    MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONVENTION 

WHO  FORMED  THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY :  CONSTITUTED,  BY  THE  BOARD  OF 
MANAGERS,  DIRECTORS  FOR  LIFE. 


Basset,  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  Bushwick,  Long  Isl- 
and, N.  Y. 

Bayard,  Samuel,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

Beecher,  Rev.  Lyman,  D.D.,  Secretary  of  the 
Convention,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Biggs,  Rev.  Thomas  J.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Blatchford,  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D.,  Lansinghurgh, 
N.  Y. 

Blythe,  Rev.  James,  D.D.,  South  Hanover,  In- 
diana. 

Bogart,  Rev.  David  S.,  New  York. 

Bradford,  Rev.  John  M.,  D.D.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Burd,  William,  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Caldwell,  John  E.,  New  York. 

Cullender,  Levi,  Greenville,  N.  Y. 

Chester,  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Clarke,  Matthew  St.  Clair,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Cooley,  Rev.  Eli  F.,  Monmouth,  N.  J. 

Cooper,  James  Fennimore,  New  York. 

Day,  Orrin,  Catskill,  N.  Y. 

Eddy,  Thomas,  New  York. 

Ford,  Rev.  Henry,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Forrest,  Rev.  Robert,  Roseville,  N.  Y. 

Griscom,  John,  LL.D.,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Hall,  Rev.  James,  D.D.,  Statesville,  N.  C. 

Henshaw,  Rt.  Rev.  J.  P.  K.,  D.D.,  Providence, 
R.  I. 

Hornblower,  Joseph  O,  LL.D.,  Newark,  N.  J., 
Vice  President. 

Humphrey,  Rev.  Heman,  :D.  D.,  Pittsfield, 
Mass. 

Jay,  William,  Bedford,  N.  Y.,  Vice  President. 

Jones,  Rev.  David,  Holmesburgh,  Pa. 

Lewis,  Rev.  Isaac,  D.D.,  Greenwich,  Ct. 

Linklaen,  Gen.  John,  Cazenovia,  N.  Y. 


M'Dowell,  Rev.  John,  D.D.,1. Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mason,  Rev.  John  M.,  D.D.,  New  York. 

Millcdoler,  Rev.  Philip,  D.D.,  New  York. 

Morse,  Rev.  Jedediah,  D.D.,  New  Haven,  Ct. 

Mott,  Valentine,  M.D.,  New  York. 

Mulligan,  William  C,  New  York. 

Murray,  John,  Jr.,  New  Y'ork. 

Neil,  Rev.  William,  D.D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Nott,  Rev.  Eliphalet,  D.D.,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

Oliver,  Rev.  Andrew,  Springfield,  N.  Y. 

Piatt,  Rev.  Isaac  W.,  Athens,  Pa. 

Proudfit,  Rev.  Alexander,  D.D.,  New  YTork. 

Rice,  Rev.  John  H.,  D.D.,  Virginia. 

Richards,  Rev.  Jas.,  D.D.,  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

Romeyn,  Rev.  John  B.,  D.D.,  Secretary  of  the 
Convention,  New  York. 

Sands,  Joshua,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.        < 

Sayres,  Rev.  Gilbert  H.,  Jamaica, N.  Y. 

Sedgwick,  Robert,  New  York. 

Skinner,  Ichabod,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Spring,  Rev.  S.,  D.D.,  Newburyport,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Spring,  Rev.  Gardiner,  D.D.,  New  York. 

Swift,  Gen.  Joseph  G.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Taylor,  Rev.  N.  W.,  D.D.,  New  Haven,  Ct. 

Van  Sinderen,  Adrian,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Vroom,  Guysbert  B.,  New  York. 

Wallace,  Joshua  M.,  President  of  the  Conven- 
tion, Burlington,  N.J. 

Warner,  Henry  W.,  New  York. 

Williams,  Rev.  John,  New  York. 

Williams,  William,  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Wilmur,  Rev.  Simon,  Swedesboro',  N.  J. 

Woodhull,  Rev.  George  S.,  New  Jersey. 

Wright,  Charles,  Flushing,  L.  I.,  N.  Y. 


FIRST  BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


HENRY  RUTGERS. 
JOHN  BINGHAM. 
RICHARD  VARICK. 
THOMAS  FARMAR. 
STEPHEN  VAN  RENSSELAER. 
SAMUEL  BOYD. 
GEORGE  STTCKLEY. 
DIYTE  BETHUNE. 
WILLLVM  BAYARD.1; 
PETER  M'CARTEE. 
THOMAS  SHIELDS. 
ROBERT  RALSTON. 
JOHN  R.  B.  RODGERS. 
DR.  PETER  WELSON. 
JEREML\H  EVARTS. 
JOHN  WATTS,  M.D. 
THOMAS  EDDY. 
WILLLVM  JOHNSON. 


EBENEZER  BURRILL. 
ANDREW  GDJFORD. 
GEORGE  GOSMAN. 
THOMAS  CARPENTER. 
LEONARD  BLEEKER. 
JOHN  CALDWELL. 
RUFUS  KING. 
THOMAS  STOKES. 
JOSHUA  SANDS. 
GEORGE  WARNER. 
DE  WITT  CLINTON. 
JOHN  WARDER. 
SAMUEL  BAYARD. 
DUNCAN  P.  CAMPBELL, 
JOHN  ASPINWALL. 
JOHN  MURRAY,  JUN. 
CHARLES  WRIGHT. 
CORNELIUS  HEYER. 


68  APPENDIX. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 


President. 
HON.  ELIAS  BOUDLNOT,  New  Jersey. 


Vice  Presidents. 
HON.  JOHN  JAY,  New  York. 
MATTHEW  CLARKSON,  Esq.,  New  York. 
HON.  SMITH  THOMPSON,  New  York. 

JOHN  LANGDON,  New  Hampshire. 
"       CALEB  STRONG,  Massachusetts. 
"       WILLIAM  GRAY,  Massachusetts. 
"       JOHN  COTTON  SMITH,  Connecticut. 
JONAS  GALUSHA,  Vermont. 
WILLIAM  JONES,  Rhode  Island. 
"       ISAAC  SHELBY,  Kentucky. 
GEORGE  MADISON,  Esq.,  Kentucky. 
HON.  WDLLLAM  TILGHMAN,  Pennsylvania. 
BUSHROD  WASHINGTON,  Virginia. 
WILLIAM  WIRT,  Esq.,  Virginia. 
HON.  CHABLES  C.  PINCKNEY,  South  Carolina. 
WILLIAM  GASTON,  North  Carolina. 
THOMAS  WORTHINGTON,  Ohio. 
THOMAS  POSEY,  Indiana. 
"       JAMES  BROWN,  Louisiana. 
JOHN  BOLTON,  Esq.,  Georgia. 
HON.  FELIX  GRUNDY,  Tennessee. 
ROBERT  OLIVER,  Esq.,  Maryland. 
JOSEPH  NOURSE,  Esq.,  District  of  Columbia. 


Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence. 
REV.  DR.  J.  M.  MASON. 


Secretary  for  Domestic  Correspondence. 
REV.  DR.  J.  B.  ROMEYN. 


Treasurer. 
RICHARD  VARICK,  Esq. 


(D)    ARABIC  SCRIPTURES. 

THE  ACTION  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 

The  Board  of  Managers,  at  its  regular  meeting,  on  the  third  day  of 
November,  1864,  unanimously  adopted  the  following  report,  which  was 
first  presented  unanimously  by  a  Committee  consisting  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittees on  Distribution,  Publication,  and  Finance  : — 

Having  heard  all  the  correspondence  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretaries  in 
reference  to  it,  and  had  a  free  interchange  of  views,  they  are  constrained 
to  regard  the  electrotyping  of  the  Arabic  Version  of  the  Scriptures  by  the 
Syrian  Mission,  as  one  of  the  most  important  undertakings  which  can 
claim  the  aid  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  The  version,  it  appears,  has 
been  most  carefully  made,  and  by  the  most  competent  scholars  on  the  field 


APTENDIX.  69 

whore  it  is  first  to  be  used ;  and  has  been  approved  by  the  Missionaries  of 
various  evangelical  bodies  represented  therein.  The  statement  made  by  the 
Mission  in  their  last  communication  is  worthy  of  note :  "  As  touching  the 
fidelity,  excellence,  and  unsectarian  character  of  the  translation,  it  is  import- 
ant to  notice  that  this  has  been  the  work  of  the  Mission — not  of  an  individ- 
ual or  individuals.  It  is  not  of  yesterday,  but  has  occupied  sixteen  years 
of  almost  consecutive  labour  in  preparation  and  execution.  The  Mission 
set  apart  to  it  those  who  by  endowment  and  by  study  seemed  pre-eminently 
fitted  for  its  prosecution." 

The  names  of  the  translators — of  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  to  whom  it  was  given 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  work,  and  of  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  by  whom  it  has 
been  completed — are  ample  guarantee  to  all  linguists  conversant  with  the 
facts  of  the  case,  that  both  with  respect  to  conformity  to  the  original 
tongues  and  in  rendering  into  Arabic,  as  excellent  and  faithful  a  translation 
has  been  secured  as  could  be  secured  in  any  language.  Besides  these  trans- 
lators, chosen  from  their  own  number,  the  Mission  has  employed  the  best 
native  talent  that  could  be  procured  in  the  country  to  make  the  translation 
elegant  as  well  as  faithful,  that  it  should  conform  to  the  native  style  of 
expression  and  to  the  highest  standard  of  literary  taste,  and  they  believe  that 
they  have  been  peculiarly  favoured  in  securing  coadjutors  of  so  high  repute 
from  both  Christian  and  Mohammedan  scholars.  A  still  further  guarantee 
to  the  fidelity  of  the  translation,  and  one  which  applies  also  to  its  unsec- 
tarian character,  is  that  each  sheet  of  the  translation,  before  being  finally 
printed,  was  submitted  to  the  careful  scrutiny  of  all  the  members  of  the 
Mission ;  to  interested  native  scholars  of  all  sects ;  to  other  American  Mis- 
sionaries besides  themselves;  to  English,  German,  Scotch,  and  Irish  Mission- 
aries of  different  religious  denominations  and  in  different  parts  of  this 
empire  (these  proof-sheets  being  about  thirty  in  number)  ;  that  criticism  has 
been  freely  invited  and  courted,  has  been  offered  and  duly  weighed,  and 
from  all  these  quarters  have  come  warm  and  unqualified  expressions  of 
approbation  and  confidence. 

The  field  to  which  this  version  is  adapted  is  vast,  embracing  the  Arabic- 
speaking  population,  extending  from  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  to  Peking 
from  the  Caspian  to  the  interior  of  Africa,  numbering  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  immortal  beings. 

Taking  these  circumstances  into  account,  the  Committee  agree  that 
while  it  is  important,  it  is  desirable  that  the  work  solicited  by  the  Mission 
should  be  accomplished. 

While  viewing  the  matter  thus,  the  Committee  are  met  by  the  fact  that 
the  present  financial  condition  of  the  Society  does  not  seem  to  warrant  the 
assumption  of  the  responsibility  involved  in  undertaking  the  entire  work  at 
once,  but  warns  us  to  proceed  cautiously  by  arrangements  for  electrotyping 
such  portions  or  forms  as  may  be  most  urgently  called  for,  to  such  extent 
as  the  means  of  the   Society  will   allow,   trusting  and  believing   that  the 


70  APPENDIX. 

friends  of  the  Society,  so  soon  as  the  subject  can  be  brought  before  them, 
will  supply  the  means  for  completing  the  whole,  as  recommended  by  the 
Syrian  Mission. 

The  Committee  accordingly  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolutions : 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  completion  of  the  version  of  the  sacred  Scriptures 
in  the  Arabic  tongue  by  the  American  Missionaries  in  Syria,  and  widely 
approved  by  the  best  scholars  in  the  East,  is  a  subject  for  universal  thanks- 
giving among  the  friends  of  Bible  circulation. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  electrotyping  of  this  version  in  the  forms  recom- 
mended by  the  Syrian  Mission  is  a  work  in  the  highest  degree  important 
and  desirable,  and  may  well  be  undertaken  by  the  American  Bible  Society. 

3.  Resolved,  That  while  the  present  condition  of  our  Treasury  does  not 
encourage  the  assumption  of  the  responsibility  involved  in  attempting  at 
once  the  whole  series  desired  by  the  Mission,  the  Secretaries,  General 
Agent,  and  Publication  Committee  be,  and  are  hereby  authorized  to  make 
the  necessary  arrangements  for  electrotyping  four  sets  of  plates  which  the 
Committee  on  Versions  may  regard  as  most  proper  to  be  first  undertaken. 

4.  Resolved,  That  the  Secretaries  of  this  Society  be,  and  are  hereby  au- 
thorized to  ask  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions the  release  of  Dr.  Van  Dyck  from  their  service  for  the  time  necessary 
to  superintend  the  work. 

5.  Resolved,  That  if  such  release  be  granted,  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyck  be  in- 
vited to  come  to  this  country,  at  the  expense  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
bringing  with  him  his  son  to  act  as  his  assistant  in  superintending  the 
electrotyping  in  the  Bible  House. 

6.  Resolved,  That  as  for  the  completion  of  this  great  work,  as  recom- 
mended by  the  Syrian  Mission,  this  Society  must  rely  on  the  liberality  of 
the  friends  of  Bible  circulation,  the  Secretaries  he,  and  are  hereby  requested 
to  present  it  in  all  its  importance  to  the  Christian  Churches  and  our  Auxili- 
aries as  far  as  practicable  throughout  our  country,  in  such  modes  as  may, 
with  the  Divine  blessing,  secure  all  needed  funds. 


I.  EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  MAKING  DUPLICATE 
PLATES  OF  THE  ARABIC  BIBLE  FOR  THE  BRITISH  AND  FOREIGN  BIBLE 
SOCIETY. 

"  Let  us  furnish  to  our  British  friends  all  the  plates  they  require,  and 
let  us  accord  to  them  the  largest  liberty  to  print  and  to  circulate  wherever 
there  are  human  hands  to  receive  them,  or  souls  to  be  saved  by  their  bless- 
ed truths.  This  will,  we  think,  be  the  performance  of  only  a  sacred  duty — 
the  discharge  merely  of  a  sacred  trust.  But  will  it  not  be  something  be- 
sides ?  will  it  not  be  another  recognition  of  that  sacred  brotherhood  in  our 
glorious  Bible  work,  of  which  our  British  brethren  were  so  generously  and 
so  promptly  mindful  in  those  dark  days  as  we  were  entering  upon  the  strug- 
gle for  our  nation's  life  ?  ?' 


APPENDIX.  71 

"These  are  the  views  which  the  Committee  think  have  a  bearing  upon 
the  particular  question  referred  to  them  by  the  Board;  but  they  likewise 
feel  that  there  is  one  broad  and  comprehensive  fact  which  underlies  and 
controls  this  entire  subject.     It  is  this : 

'•  That  God  in  his  providence  has  committed  the  guardianship  and  circu- 
lation of  his  Blessed  Word  to  the  two  great  Protestant  nations  of  the  earth 
and  to  the  two  national  Societies  as  the  instruments  of  carrying  out  this 
purpose.  Our  field  is  the  world.  '  The  seed  is  the  Word  of  God.'  No 
particular  part  of  this  broad  work  belongs  of  right  to  either  Society  exclu- 
sively, except  so  far  as  God  in  his  providence  may  afford  to  one  a  more 
ready  access  and  greater  facilities  than  to  the  other.  But  in  this  great 
work  of  evangelizing  the  world  we  should  press  forward  side  by  side, 
with  one  heart  and  one  purpose.  Neither  should  they  '  call  aught  of  the 
things  they  possess  their  own;'  but  all  things  should  be  in  'common,' 
and  all  for  the  Master's  use.  Translations  should  be  used  interchangeably, 
and  any  advantage  or  facility  secured  by  one  Society  should  be  a  gain  to 
the  Cause  and  to  all  who  love  it.  In  this  way  alone  can  we  accomplish 
most  for  the  salvation  of  a  dying  world,  and  in  this  way  best  secure  the 
blessing  of  Him  whose  truths  we  both  desire  to  spread,  and  whom  we 
both  desire  to  serve." 

The  following  are  the  resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Managers  on  this 
subject : 

Resolved,  That  we  most  cordially  accede  to  the  request  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  will  make  for  them  duplicate  electrotype 
plates  of  such  editions  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures  now  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion by  us  as  they  may  designate,  without  charge. 

Resolved,  That  our  compliance  with  this  request  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  be  accompanied  by  the  largest  liberty  for  the  free 
and  unrestricted  use  of  these  plates,  with  their  own  imprint,  conditioned 
only,  that  no  alteration  be  made  in  the  plates  without  the  consent  of  this 
Society. 

II.     RESPONSE    OF   THE   COMMITTEE    OF    THE    BRITISH    AND   FOREIGN    BIBLE   SO- 
CIETY,   DATED    LONDON,    APRIL    16,    1866. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  have  received  with  peculiar  satisfaction 
the  noble  offer  of  the  American  Bible  Society  to  present  to  this  society, 
free  of  charge,  duplicate  electrotype  plales  of  such  editions  of  the  Arabic 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  as  the 
committee  may  select  from  the  series  which  it  is  intended  to  issue  in  con- 
nexion with  the  Jubilee  of  the  American  Bible  Society ;  and  the  commit- 
tee, while  accepting  the  liberal  proposal,  desire  heartily  to  reciprocate  the 
kind  and  Christian  sentiments  by  which  it  has  been  dictated,  and  to  convey 
to  the  Board  of  the  American  Bible  Society  the  assurance  of  their  warmest 
gratitude  for  the  generosity  evinced  in  regard  to  the  work  in  question,  and 
trust  that  the  transaction,  so  honourable  to  those  with  whom  it  originates, 
may  tend  to  strengthen  the  many  friendly  ties  which  unite  the  two  Societies 
in  their  great  enterprise  of  Scripture  circulation  throughout  the  world. 


A  Specimen  of  the  Type  used  for  the  .New  Arabic  Bible,  translated  by  the 
Rev.  Doctors  Eli  Smith  and  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dtck,  of  the  Syria  Mission, 
A.B.C.F.M.  Begun  by  Dr.  Smith  in  1847,  and  finished  by  Dr.  Van  Dtce, 
August,  1864.  Punches,  matrices,  types,  and  electrotype  plates,  made  by  the 
American  Bible  Society,  at  the  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York.  This 
work  commenced  August,  1865.  First  plate  electrotyped  March  15,  1866. 
Gen.  xsxi.  23-33, 

It  $  It  &  0yl%  ^\A  _  W 

•  5\xJC>  .Wf  (J  AJj  J>V3  .    *b\  <Kx^m  <^Kw>  O^U  /Jl-J3  4-sw  4j<p"i 


ATPENDIX.  73 

(D)    THE  BIBLE  HOUSE. 

"In  1851  the  inability  of  the  Managers  to  enlarge  their  operations  so  as 
to  meet  the  increasing  demands  for  the  Scriptures  induced  them  to  appoint  a 
special  committee  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  suitable  grounds  for  a  new  and 
larger  edifice.  This  Committee  consisted  of  Pelatiah  Perit,  Norman  White, 
Charles  N.  Talbot,  George  D.  Phelps,  and  A.  Robertson  Walsh,  Esqs.  As 
a  number  of  contiguous  lots  were  required,  and  in  an  accessible  locality  with 
an  abundance  of  light  and  air,  the  Committee  for  a  time  were  baffled  in 
their  efforts,  and  not  a  little  disheartened.  At  length  their  attention  was 
called  to  a  plot  of  ground  near  the  now  central  part  of  the  City,  which 
seemed  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  object  they  sought.  The  same  im- 
pression was  made  on  the  minds  of  the  Board  generally,  and  indeed,  on  all 
friends  who  gave  the  matter  an  examination.  As  another  has  observed : 
'  Thrice  had  this  site  been  appropriated  to  other  and  far  different  uses, 
and  thrice  had  the  arrangements  signally  failed  on  consummation.  An 
overruling  Providence  seems  to  have  reserved  it  for  its  own  present  and 
higher  purposes.' 

"The  entire  plot  was  purchased,  consisting  of  nearly  twelve  lots,  or  three 
quarters  of  an  acre,  and  the  Building  Committee  appointed  to  arrange  without 
delay,  for  covering  the  whole  with  a  substantial  house.  This  Committee 
consisted  of  George  D.  Phelps,  Norman  White,  Charles  N.  Talbot,  A.  Rob- 
ertson Walsh,  and  James  Suydam,  Esqs.,  Managers,  with  the  Hon.  Luther 
Bradish,  one  of  the  Vice  Presidents. 

"  On  the  29th  June,  1852,  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  building  was  laid  in 
the  presence  of  a  large  assembly.  Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Nathan 
Bangs,  D.D. ;  portions  of  the  119th  Psalm  were  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ferris, 
and  addresses  delivered  by  the  President,  the  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen, 
Rev.  Dr.  Spring,  Hon.  Luther  Bradish,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles.  The  follow- 
ing books  and  documents  were  deposited  in  the  corner  stone :  1st,  copy  of 
one  of  the  first  Bibles  published  by  the  Society  in  1817;  2d,  copy  of  the 
last  Bible  published  in'  1852;  3d,  the  thirty-six  Annual  Reports  of  the 
Society,  in  four  volumes ;  4th,  the  Bible  Society  Record  of  the  last  three 
years;  5th,  catalogue  of  the  Society's  Library;  6th,  Report  of  the  Committee 
on  Versions  in  relation  to  the  late  collation  of  the  English  Bible;  7th, 
Report  of  the  Board  in  regard  to  the  principles  of  making  translations  ; 
8th,  a  programme  of  the  exercises  of  this  occasion,  with  a  copy  of  the  Presi- 
dent's Address." 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    BUILDING. 

"  The  Building  Committee  thus  describe  :  It  is  bounded  by  the  Fourth  Av- 
enue, Astor  Place,  Third  Avenue,  and  Ninth  Street,  and  is  six  stories  high, 
with  cellars  and  vaults. 

"  The  front  on  Fourth  Avenue  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet  nine 
inches  ;  on  Astor  Place,  two  hundred  and  two  feet,  ten  inches ;  on  the  Third 


Y-i  APPENDIX. 

Avenue,  seventy-six  feet,  eleven  inches,  and  on  Ninth  Street,  two  hundred 
and  thirty-two  feet,  six  inches,  and  fifty  feet  in  depth,  having  a  large  area 
in  the  centre.  The  cellars  are  eight  feet  six  inches  high ;  the  first  story, 
twelve  feet ;  the  second  story,  thirteen  feet ;  the  third  story,  eleven  feet  ;  the 
fourth  story,  ten  feet  four  inches;  the  fifth  story,  ten  feet;  the  sixth  story, 
nine  feet  four  inches ;   all  in  the  clear  between  floors  and  ceilings. 

"  The  fronts  on  Fourth  Avenue  and  Astor  Place  are  divided  into  five 
sections  each.  The  two  ends  and  centre  sections  have  a  projection  of  twelve 
inches  in  front,  and  also  extend  above  the  intermediate  sections  ;  and  there  is 
also  a  centre  section  to  the  front  on  Ninth  Street,  with  a  projection  of  twelve 
inches.  The  principal  entrance  on  Fourth  Avenue  is  decorated  with  four 
round  columns  with  Corinthian  capitals  and  moulded  vases  resting  upon 
panels,  and  moulded  pedestals  and  semi-circular  arches  are  placed  between 
the  columns  to  form  the  heads  of  doors,  etc.,  and  all  surmounted  with  a 
heavy  cornice  and  segment  pediment.  The  whole  of  the  building  is  faced 
with  Philadelphia  pressed  brick,  and  surmounted  by  a  cornice  formed  with 
ornamental  trusses,  blocks,  panels,  etc.  The  centre  section  on  Fourth 
Avenue  and  also  the  centre  section  on  Ninth  Street  and  Astor  Place  have 
segment  pedestals.  There  are  four  principal  entrances  to  the  building,  be- 
sides others  for  the  operatives.  A  portion  of  the  first,  second,  and  third 
stories  is  arranged  to  be  let  for  offices  and  stores  until  the  Society  may  need 
them.  The  Managers'  Room  is  located  on  the  second  story  on  Fourth  Av- 
enue, and  is  thirty  feet  wide  by  fifty  feet  deep,  perfectly  fire-proof,  and 
lighted  by  a  dome.  The  room  is  twenty-five  feet  high.  Immediately  under- 
neath is  the  room  for  bound  volumes  of  letters  and  library,  also  perfectly 
fire-proof.* 

"  The  boilers  are  placed  in  the  inner  area  or  yard,  so  as  not  to  expose  the 
operatives  to  danger  in  case  of  accident.  The  press  room  occupies  the  fifth 
and  sixth  stories  on  Ninth  Street,  and  is  one  hundred  and  nineteen  feet  long 
by  forty-one  feet  in  width.  The  whole  establishment  is  so  planned  that, 
from  the  delivery  of  the  paper  in  Ninth  Street,  it  proceeds  regularly  through 
its  various  stages  of  manufacture  until  it  arrives  in  books  in  the  Deposi- 
tory, with  but  very  little  labour  in  hoisting  from  one  story  to  another.  Great 
attention  has  been  paid  to  the  subject  of  heating  and  ventilating  the  various 
departments.!  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  all  others,  the  Committee  have 
aimed  to  erect  a  building  adapted  in  all  its  parts  to  the  purposes  for  which 
it  is  wanted,  and  worthy  of  the  Holy  Book  for  whose  universal  dissemina- 
tion the  American   Bible  Society  is  labouring. 

"  This  noble  edifice,  erected  for  the  best  of  all  purposes  and  at  a  consid- 
erable expense  (some  $300,000  with  the  ground),  has  not,  as  the  Managers 

*  Underneath  this  room  are  two  strongly  built  arched  vaults,  one  of  which  is  used 
as  a  workshop  by  the  engineer,  the  other  as  a  depository  for  stereotype  and  electro- 
type plates. 

t  To  accomplish  the  former  purpose,  there  are  throughout  the  building  more 
than  ten  miles  of  steam  pipe. 


APPENDIX.  75 

would  emphatically  state,  been  put  up  at  the  cost  of  those  in  city  or  country 
who  gave  their  funds  for  Bible  distribution." — Dr.   Strickland's  History. 

(E)    EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS. 

The  Society,  since  its  organization,  has  had  seven  pre  idents,  to  wit :  in 
1816,  Hon.  Elias  Boudinot;  in  1821,  Hon.  John  Jay;  in  1828,  Hon.  Richard 
Varick;  in  1831,  Hon.  John  Cotton  Smith;  in  1846,  Hon.  Theodore  Freling- 
huysen;  in  1862,  Hon.  Luther  Bradish  ;  and  in  1864,  James  Lenox,  Esq. 

It  has  had  seventy-five  vice  presidents  in  different  periods  of  its  history, 
comprising  some  of  the  most  distinguished  laymen  of  the  country. 

The  following  have  acted  as  its  secretaries,  to  wit :  Rev.  J.  M.  Mason,  D.D.; 
Rev.  J.  B.  Romeyn,  D.D. ;  John  Pintard.  LL.D. ;  Rev.  James  Milnor,  D.D.; 
Rev.  S.  S.  Woodhull,  D.D. ;  Rev.  Thomas  M'Auley,  D.D.,  LL.D. ;  Rev.  Charles 
G.  Somers;  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.;  Rev.  John  C.  Brigham,  D.D. ;  Robert 
F.  Winslow,  Esq. ;  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.D. ;  Rev.  Edmund  S.  Janes,  D.D. ; 
Rev.  Noah  Levings,  D.D. ;  Rev.  S.  Ireneus  Prime,  D.D. ;  Rev.  Joseph  Holdich, 
D.D. ;  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Stiles,  D.D. ;  Rev.  James  H.  M'Neill ;  Rev.  Wm.  J.  R. 
Taylor,  D.D. ;  and  Rev.  T.  Ralston  Smith. 

The  treasurers  of  the  Society,  in  their  order,  are  as  follows :  in  1816,  Hon. 
Richard  Varick;  in  1820,  Wm.  W.  Woolsey,  Esq. ;  in  1828,  John  Adams,  Esq. ; 
in  1832,  Garret  N.  Bleeker,  Esq.,  for  five  months;  in  1832,  Hubert  Van 
Wagenen,  Esq. ;  in  1836,  John  Nitchie,  Esq. ;  in  1838,  Abraham  Keyser,  Esq. ; 
and  in  1840,  William  Whitlock,  Jr.,  Esq. 

In  the  year  1839,  Joseph  Hyde,  Esq.,  was  appointed  the  Society's  General 
Agent  and  Assistant  Treasurer. 

In  the  year  1853,  Mr.  Henry  Fisher  was  appointed  Assistant  Treasurer  ; 
and  in  1854,  Mr.  Caleb  T.  Rowe  was  appointed  General  Agent. 

Of  these  officers  a  marked  proportion  have  passed  to  their  eternal  rest.  To 
those  clerical  Brethren  known  to  me  and  with  whom  I  have  had  relations 
more  or  less  particular,  it  is  decorous  that  I  pay  my  tribute  of  respect  and 
affection  in  this  connexion. 

The  Rev.  John  M.  Mason,  S.  T.  P.,  stands  out  with  special  prominence 
as  one  of  the  strongest  men  our  country  has  produced.  Blest  with  unusual 
powers  of  mind,  and  enjoying  every  facility  for  their  cultivation  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  as  he  entered  on  his  ministerial  work  he  called  out  universal 
admiration  as  the  successor  of  a  venerated  father  in  the  pastoral  office.  As  a 
pulpit  orator  he  has  had  no  superior ;  as  a  Professor  of  Theology  he  possessed  such 
a  faculty  of  condensing  thought,  and  a  clearness  and  precision  of  statement,  and 
power  of  argument  with  a  wide  range  of  view,  that  his  instructions  were 
esteemed  invaluable.  As  a  college  instructor  in  the  higher  classics,  both  Latin 
and  Greek,  he  was  unrivalled  :  for  to  thorough  scholarship  and  the  nicest  ap- 
preciation of  the  characteristics  of  each  author  read  by  his  classes,  he  added  a 
remarkable  power  of  illustration.  He  was  of  a  warm,  generous,  confiding  na- 
ture, ready  always  to  sympathize  with  sorrow,  although  his  noble  form  and 
the  dignified  movement  which  his  Maker  had  given  him  led  some  to  think  he 


76  APPENDIX. 

was  cold  and  haughty.  He  was  truly  a  laborious  man  (his  friends  thought 
unwisely  so) ;  at  the  time  the  Bible  Society  was  formed  he  was  the  pastor 
of  a  large  church  and  congregation,  and  conducted  his  two  Sabbatical  services  ; 
he  was  a  Theological  professor,  and  was  punctually  in  his  place ;  and  in  the 
office  of  Provost  of  Columbia  College  he  had  charge  of  the  senior  class  in 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  was  rarely  a  moment  out  of  time :  and  these  were  his 
services  for  years,  while  besides  he  had  all  the  usual  duties  of  a  pastor  out  of  the 
pulpit,  with  many  engagements  and  calls  incidental  to  his  high  position.  It 
pleased  God  to  spare  him  for  years  to  see  the  increasing  prosperity  of  our 
Society,  whose  powerful  and  matchless  appeal  to  the  Christians  of  our  country 
came  from  his  pen.  At  length  his  system  gave  way  under  the  pressure  on  it, 
his  mind  was  impaired,  though  he  to  the  last  was  able  to  bear  his  testimony  to 
the  truth,  and  died  in  the  bosom  of  his  family. 

Rev.  John  B.  Romeyn,  D.D.,  the  first  Recording  Secretary,  was  the  beloved 
pastor  of  the  Cedar  Street  Church,  the  parent  flock  of  the  Church  on  University 
Place  and  10th  Street,  and  that  of  the  Church  on  19th  Street  and  5th  Avenue. 
In  1816  he  was  in  his  prime,  being  one  of  the  most  animated  and  captivating 
preachers  in  the  city,  around  whom  numerous  young  men  of  New  England 
origin  gathered,  and  known  in  his  Presbyterial  relations  as  a  man  of  great 
executive  ability  and  business  tact,  and  promptness.  He  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  influential  clergymen  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  our  country. 
His  family  was  of  Holland  origin,  and  himself  one  of  a  succession  of  ministers 
in  a  family,  which  at  the  present  time  in  its  branches  has  a  strong  representa- 
tion in  the  pulpit  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  generation.  He  is  especially  remembered 
as  the  author  of  a  Report  to  the  General  Assembly  of  his  church,  which  is  to- 
day quoted  as  authority  on  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  her  children.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  activity  of  mind,  as  well  as  of  personal  habits,  and  was  a  most 
important  man  to  the  Bible  Society. 

Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  M'Auley,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  came  to  the  pastoral  office  in  this 
city  from  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics  in  Union  College,  enjoying  a  high 
reputation  for  varied  scholarship  and  success  as  an  instructor,  and  great  elo- 
quence as  a  preacher.  Soon  his  power  was  felt,  and  he  was  honoured  not  only 
with  a  densely  crowded  audience,  but  with  large  increase  to  the  communion  of 
his  church.  He  was  indefatigable  in  all  the  details  of  pastoral  work,  and 
especially  in  the  successful  maintenance  of  a  large  Bible  class  for  adults.  The 
Bible  Society  had  no  warmer  or  more  untiring  friend,  or  one  more  ready  for 
any  emergency  than  he.  For  years  he  stood  in  the  foreground  of  active  work- 
ers, and  as  a  representative  of  our  Society  was  warmly  greeted  wherever  he 
went  to  plead  our  Cause.     In  his  latter  years  he  was  a  subject  of  great  infirmity. 

The  Rev.  Selah  S.  Woodhull,  D.D.,  was  connected  with  the  Reformed 
Protestant  Dutch  Church,  and  a  pastor  in  Brooklyn,  L.  L,  at  the  time  of  his 


APPENDIX. 


77 


appointment  as  Secretary.  He  ranked  with  the  foremost  in  his  denomination, 
and  for  some  time  occupied  a  place  in  the  service  of  the  General  Synod,  which  first 
called  out  his  admirable  administrative  abilities,  and  proved  him  a  capital  bus- 
iness man.  As  a  preacher  he  was  clear,  precise,  and  pointed,  and  won  for  him- 
self the  confidence  of  some  of  the  best  men  in  Brooklyn,  who  personally  or 
through  their  families  to  a  degree  became  in  time  the  nucleus  of  the  great 
church  expansion  which  has  occurred  in  Brooklyn.  He  brought  his  methodical 
excellence  into  his  Secretaryship,  and  carried  the  work  to  a  still  higher  degree 
of  success.  His  reports  were  clear,  suggestive,  and  always  attentively  heard. 
The  General  Synod  of  his  church,  estimating  highly  his  ability,  appointed  him 
its  Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology  in  the  Seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 
He  entered  on  his  new  work  with  great  earnestness,  and  was  beginning  to 
realize  a  proportionate  success,  when  the  Master  took  him  to  himself. 

The  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.,  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  filled  some  of  the  most  responsi- 
ble positions.  For  several  years  he  was  one  of  the  chief  Managers  of  the 
Publishing  House  in  Mulberry  Street,  and  successively  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  Journal,  the  chief  official  organ  of  his  church,  and  of  the 
Methodist  Quarterly  Review;  for  several  years  Corresponding  Secretary  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  and  finally,  President  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
He  was  one  whom  his  own  denomination  delighted  to  honour  for  his  fidelity 
to  its  interests  and  the  good  service  he  rendered,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
delighted  to  behold  and  to  acknowledge  Christian  character  and  action  in 
other  churches,  and  to  contribute  his  portion  in  doing  good  in  any  department 
of  Christian  effort.  Few  men  have  commanded  a  wider  influence  or  have 
been  more  extensively  known.  His  Christian  character  grew  in  interest, 
and  matured  more  and  more  with  advancing  age,  until  he  was  gathered 
into  the  heavenly  garner  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe.  From  his  long 
residence  in  this  City  and  his  marked  appearance,  he  was  very  generally 
recognized,  and  few  men  have  been  more  missed  in  our  community.  He 
died  on  the  12th  day  of  April,  1862,  aged  eighty-four  years. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1844,  the  Rev.  E.  S.  Janes  having  been  elected 
Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Church,  the  Rev.  Noah  Levings,  D.D.,  was  elected 
in  his  place  Financial  Secretary.  He  was  very  highly  esteemed,  not  only 
in  his  own  denomination,  but  by  the  Christian  public  generally.  He  pos- 
sessed a  warm  Christian  heart,  a  fertile  mind,  a  vivid  imagination,  and  a 
natural  eloquence  that  rendered  him  always  welcome  and  generally  effec- 
tive in  advocating  the  Cause  of  the  Society.  He  travelled  very  extensively 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  on  his  official  business,  making  more  than  one 
extended  journey  to  the  West  and  South.  In  the  Autumn  of  1848,  he  made 
his  last  tour,  travelling  nearly  four  thousand  miles  over  very  bad  roads  and 
through  much  exposure  to  the  weather  and  other  inconveniencies.  Under 
the   pressure  his  health   gave  way,  but   he   still   persevered   in  his  mission 


78  APPENDIX. 

until  the  24th  of  December,  when  he  preached  his  last  sermon  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Natchez.  From  this  he  endeavoured  to  reach 
home,  but  he  was  able  to  get  no  further  than  Cincinnati.  Here,  at  the 
house  of  a  kind  friend,  he  breathed  his  last  on  the  9th  day  of  January,  1849. 
It  is  not  undeserving  of  notice  in  this  place,  that  when  some  one  in 
the  course  of  his  illness  placed  a  large  Bible  under  his  pillow  to  raise  his 
head,  observing  the  letters  on  the  back,  he  exclaimed  :  "  Thou  blessed  book ; 
lamp  to  my  feet  and  light  to  my  path ;  thou  guide  of  my  youth,  director  of 
my  manhood,  and  support  of  my  declining  years ;  how  cheerless  would  this 
world  be  were  it  not  for  thy  Divine  revelations  and  Christian  promises." 
Thus  died  Noah  Levings,  in  full  faith  of  the  Redeemer  whom  he  loved 
and  served,  and  to  the  circulation  of  whose  Sacred  Word  he  had  devoted 
his  last  years.  The  truths  he  had  promulgated  with  ability  and  success, 
sustained  and  cheered  him  in  his  final  honrs. 

The  Rev.  John  C.  Brigham,  D.D.,  was  the  first  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary whose  entire  time  was  given  to  the  office,  all  his  predecessors  having 
sustained  pastoral  responsibilities,  and  necessarily  dividing  their  time  be- 
tween the  two  offices. 

The  change  was  indispensable  both  as  regarded  the  men  themselves, 
pressed  with  heavy  pastoral  duty,  and  the  rapidly  expanding  work  of  the 
Society,  which  has  indeed  so  increased,  that  three  Secretaries  find  their 
hands  full,  and  the  calls  of  duty  multiplying. 

Dr.  Brigham  came  into  the  office  with  all  the  qualifications  which  a  care- 
ful and  extended  education  could  give  him,  to  which  was  added  a  large  ac- 
quaintance with  the  wants  of  our  field,  both  in  the  United  States  and  the 
South  American  Peninsula,  and  a  very  extended  acquaintance  with  the 
clergy.  Few  men  will  be  found  in  any  department  of  life  of  greater,  far- 
seeing  wisdom  and  more  thoroughly  balanced  mind  than  he  possessed.  He 
was  especially  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  men,  and  would  succeed  where 
difficulties  and  entanglements  and  opposition  would  discourage  ordinary  men. 

Long  was  he  spared  to  us,  though  being  tried  in  his  last  year  by  infirm 
health,  his  work  was  limited  mostly  to  consultations  and  advice.  His  loss 
was  deeply  felt,  though  his  influence  and  faithful  work  will  continue  to 
bless  men. 

Rev.  James  Milnor,  D.D.,  was  invited  in  the  summer  of  1816,  to  be- 
come the  rector  of  St.  George's  Church  in  this  City,  and  in  September 
entered  upon  his  parochial  duty,  and  soon  connected  himself  with  the 
various  benevolent  societies  which  began  their  work  about  that  time.  His 
parish  and  he  were  animated  with  the  same  spirit  of  liberal  action,  and  stood 
with  t  e  foremost  in  the  Sunday  school  work,  then  enlisting  the  interest 
and  energies  of  the  churches  in  the  City.  He  became  the  second  President 
of  the  New  York  Sunday  School  Union,  and  for  a  number  of  years  occupied 


APPENDIX.  79 

that  place  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  distinguished 
for  the  highly  intellectual  as  well  as  truly  evangelical  character  of  his 
services,  and  was  heard  with  great  gratification  by  multitudes  beside  his 
immediate  parishioners.  From  the  organization  of  the  American  Tract  So- 
ciety, in  which  he  took  a  leading  part,  he  occupied  for  a  long  period  the 
chairmanship  of  its  executive  committee,  and  down  to  his  death  that  of  its  most 
important  committee  on  Publication,  where  soundness  of  judgment  was  espe- 
cially required.  With  warm  preference  for  his  own  form  of  church  order,  he 
was  of  most  catholic  spirit,  and  always  maintained  intimate  Christian  fellow- 
ship with  clergymen  of  other  churches.  He  became  connected  with  the 
American  Bible  Society,  directly  after  removed  to  this  City,  and  after 
serving  for  one  year  as  Secretary  for  Domestic  Correspondence,  succeeded 
Dr.  Mason  as  Foreign  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  occupied  that  responsi- 
ble place  in  connexion  with  his  pastoral  duties  for  twenty  years.  For  many 
years  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Versions.  His  removal  by  death 
created  a  deep  sensation  throughout  all  the  churches,  for  all  felt  that  he 
belonged  to  the  cause  of  piety. 

The  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.D.,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  must  be  pro- 
nounced a  rare  man,  whether  his  breaking  away  from  the  fascinations  of  a 
highly  successful  stage  career  for  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  his  careful  and 
thorough  self-tuition  in  theology,  or  his  eloquence  in  the  pulpit  and  on  all  pub- 
lic occasions  be  considered.  It  is  not  too  emphatic  to  say  he  stood  with  the 
strongest  men  of  his  denomination  at  the  time  of  his  official  relation  with  us, 
and  in  his  work  as  a  minister  was  blest  with  seeing  church  after  church  built 
up  through  his  instrumentality.  He  felt  it  his  duty  to  separate  from  our  ranks 
in  consequence  of  the  action  on  the  versions  made  by  several  of  his  mis- 
sionary Brethren  in  the  East,  which  all  his  fellow  labourers  with  whom 
he  had  often  taken  sweet  counsel  regretted,  but  in  their  obligation  to  the 
catholic  principles  of  ovir  Constitution  could  not  remedy.  His  personal  friend 
and  brother  in  the  Baptist  faith,  President  Wayland,  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity, joined  in  that  regret,  while  he  expressed  fully  his  agreement  with  the 
course  of  action  adopted. 

Dr.  Wayland's  account  closes  thus  : 

Dr.  Milnor's  preamble  and  resolutions,  with  the  addition  suggested  by  Dr. 
Sharp,  were  passed  by  the  Board,  and  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  form  at 
present  the  rule  of  its  proceedings  in  respect  to  versions  of  the  Scriptures  in 
foreign  languages.     They  are  in  these  words  : 

':  By  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  its  Managers  are,  in 
the  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  restricted  to  such  copies  as  are  without 
note  or  comment,  and,  in  the  English  language,  to  the  version  in  common  use. 
The  design  of  this  restriction  seems  to  have  been  to  simplify  and  mark  out  the 
duties  of  the  Society,  so  that  all  the  religious  denominations  of  which  it  is 
composed  might  harmoniously  unite  in  the  performance  of  these  duties. 


80  APPENDIX. 

"As  the  Managers  are  now  called  to  aid  extensively  in  circulating  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  in  languages  other  than  the  English,  they  deem  it  their  duty 
in  conformity  with  the  obvious  spirit  of  their  compact,  to  adopt  the  following 
resolutions  as  the  rule  of  their  conduct  in  making  appropriations  for  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Scriptures  in  foreign  tongues : 

"1.  Resolved,  That  in  appropriating  money  for  the  translation,  printing, 
and  distribution  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  in  foreign  languages,  the  Managers  feel 
at  liberty  to  encourage  only  such  versions  as  conform,  in  the  principles  of  their 
translation,  to  the  common  English  version,  at  least  so  far  that  all  the  religious 
denominations  represented  in  this  Society  can  consistently  use  and  circulate  said 
versions  in  their  several  schools  and  communities. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  Preamble  and  Resolution  be  sent 
to  each  of  the  Missionary  Boards  accustomed  to  receive  pecuniary  grants  from 
this  Society,  with  the  request  that  the  same  may  be  transmitted  to  their  several 
missionary  stations  where  the  Scriptures  are  in  the  process  of  translation ;  and 
also  that  the  said  several  Missionary  Boards  be  informed  that  their  application 
for  aid  be  accompanied  with  a  declaration  that  the  versions  which  they  propose 
to  circulate  are  executed  in  accordance  with  the  above  resolution." 

I  close  with  the  declaration  that  I  cannot  perceive  how,  consistently  with 
the  principles  of  its  Constitution,  the  Bible  Society  could  have  adopted  any  other 
rule.  It  is  equally  required  by  the  dictates  of  justice  and  of  common  sense,  and 
it  breathes  the  spirit  of  fraternal  equality  and  Christian  courtesy.  It  has  there- 
fore my  cheerful  and  unwavering  support. 

F.  Wayland. 

With  all  this,  we  give  Dr.  Cone  the  meed  of  high  praise  in  his  able  and 
eminently  useful  ministerial  work. 

(F)    RESUPPLY. 

The  resolutions  of  the  Board  marking  out  the  labour  to  be  entered  on  in  the 
new  half  century,  which  Dr.  Spring  seconded,  and  in  behalf  of  which  he  made 
his  most  touching  speech,  which  has  been  referred  to,  were  as  follows  : 

Whereas,  God  in  his  gracious  providence  has  conducted  this  Society  from 
small  beginnings  to  a  degree  of  strength  and  capability  which  fit  it  for  accom- 
plishing a  greater  work  than  ever,  and  has  signalized  our  Jubilee  year  as  a 
year  of  peace  and  universal  freedom  throughout  our  land  :  and 

Whereas,  it  appears,  from  the  correspondence  of  our  Secretaries,  that  mul- 
titudes throughout  our  older  States  are  found  destitute  of  the  Word  of  Life :  and 

Whereas,  through  the  desolations  of  war,  great  want  of  the  Scriptures 
exists  in  the  South  and  Southwest,  and  the  means  of  supplying  it  by  former 
Bible  organizations  there  existing  have  been  swept  away :  and 

Whereas,  millions  of  freedmen,  now  thrown  upon  their  own  efforts  and 
passing  through  a  most  critical  formative  state,  need  the  great  charter  of  duty 
and  privileges,  and  are  anxiously  asking  for  it : 

i  Resolved,  That  while  this  Society  feels  deeply  its  obligations  to  the  world, 
and  will  go  on  in  its  work  abroad,  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  the  American  Bible 


APPENDIX.  81 

Society  and  its  numerous  friends  to  respond  to  these  indications  of  what  God 
would  have  us  to  do,  by  at  once  entering  upon  the  supply  of  this  vast  field 
of  want. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  highly  befitting  that  this  should  be  the  first  work  of 
our  second  semi-century. 

Resolved,  That  with  the  aid  of  the  gracious  Head,  which  has  done  so  much 
for  us  in  the  past,  we  will  without  delay  undertake  this  truly  American  work, 
and  call  upon  all  lovers  of  the  Bible  and  our  country  to  unite  with  us. 

At  the  late  Jubilee  Anniversary  of  this  Institution,  which  was  held  in  the 
Academy  of  Music,  May  10th,  1866,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Society  : 

Resolved,  That,  relying  upon  the  providence  and  grace  of  the  Almighty 
God,  this  Society  hereby  approves  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Managers  at  their  last  meeting,  to  undertake  without  delay  a  third  general 
supply  of  the  whole  country  with  the  Word  of  God — a  work  which  is  eminently 
beiitting  us  as  an  acknowledgment  of  Divine  goodness  in  the  past,  and  a  proper 
beginning  of  our  second  half  century. 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  held  July  2d,  1866,  they 
adopted  unanimously  the  subjoined  plan  for  accomplishing  this  great  work: 

1 .  Resolved,  That  it  be  earnestly  recommended  to  the  local  Bible  societies 
throughout  the  country  to  adopt  measures  for  supplying  with  the  Bible,  as 
early  as  practicable,  all  destitute  families  within  their  respective  limits. 

.  2.  Resolved,  That,  in  prosecuting  this  work,  regard  should  also  be  had  to 
children  and  youth,  who  have  great  need  of  the  Scriptures  for  Sabbath  school 
and  other  purposes,  and  who  should  be  furnished  with  the  New  Testament,  at 
least,  as  far  as  possible. 

3.  Resolved,  furthermore,  That  seamen,  boatmen,  railroad  hands,  stage 
drivers,  etc.,  who  are  favoured  with  few  Sabbath  privileges,  have  increased 
necessity  for  the  written  Word  of  God,  and  should  be  furnished  with  it  ;  and 
that  special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  supply  of  the  freed  people  of  the 
South,  iu  their  schools,  families,  churches,  etc. 

4.  Resolved.  That  in  entering  on  the  proposed  undertaking,  it  will  be  for 
the  benefit  of  all  concerned,  that  a  portion  at  least  of  the  funds  required  for  the 
purchase  of  books  be  raised  and  forwarded  when  orders  for  books  are  made. 
The  Parent  Society  will  thus  be  furnished  with  ready  means  for  preparing  books 
with  economy,  and  the  auxiliaries  saved  from  a  protracted,  disheartening  debt. 

5.  Resolved,  That  in  effecting  the  proposed  supply  by  the  auxiliaries,  it  is 
desirable  that  the  work  be  performed,  as  far  as  possible,  by  self-denying  volun- 
teers, each  taking  an  assigned  district ;  and  that  when  hired  labourers  are 
necessary,  they  be  sustained,  as  far  as  practicable,  by  the  local  societies  ;  and 
aid  from  the  Parent  Society,  when  needed,  be  sought  in  the  way  of  books, 
rather  than  funds,  for  colportage. 

6.  Resolved,  That  the  various  auxiliaries,  as  they  enter  on  the  proposed 
supply,  be  requested  to  inform  this  Board  when  they  commence  their  labours, 
and  also  furnish  the  results  when  the  work  is  completed,  that  the  same  may 
be  published  in  the  Bible  Society  Record  and  Annual  Reports. 

7.  Resolved,  That  in  portions  of  the  country  where  auxiliaries  cannot  be 
found,  or  relied  on  for  supplying  the  destitute,  the  Committees  on  Distribution 
and  on  Agencies  be  instructed  to  adopt  such  other  methods  for  securing  a  sup- 
ply as  may  be  deemed  most  expedient  and  effective. 

6 


(G)    ANNIVERSARY   ADDRESSES. 


JUBILEE    YE^R. 


The  American  Bible  Society  held  its  Fiftieth  Annual  Meeting  at  the  Bible 
House,  in  Astor  Place,  on  Thursday,  May  10,  1866,  at  nine  o'clock,  A.  M. 

James  Lenox,  Esq.,  President,  in  the  chair,  assisted  by  the  following  Vice 
Presidents:  Hon.  Peter  D.  Vroom,  of  New  Jersey;  John  Tappan,  Esq.,  of 
Massachusetts;  Hon.  A.  B.  Hasbrouck  and  William  Whitlock,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of 
New  York  ;  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts  ;  Norman  White  and 
Frederick  S.  Winston,  Esqs.,  of  New  York;  Gen.  William  Williams,  of  Con- 
necticut ;  and  James  Suydam,  Esq.,  of  New  York. 

The  R.ev.  J.  T.  Peck,  D.D.,  of  California,  read  the  111th  Psalm,  and  offered 
prayer. 

Caleb  T.  Ptowe.  Esq.,  General  Agent,  read  the  Minutes  of  the  previous  meet- 
ing of  the  Society,  and  they  were  approved. 

He  then  reported  the  names  of  nine  Managers,  composing  the  fourth  class, 
whose  term  of  office  expired  at  that  time,  viz.  : 

Frederick  T.  Peet,  Edward  J.  Woolsey, 

Isaac  Wood,  M.  D.,  Robert  Carter, 

Cornelius  Du  Bois,  Marshall  S.  Bidwell, 

Washington  R.  Vermilye,  Chandler  Starr, 

Richard  P.  Buck. 

A  Committee,  composed  as  follows,  was  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  nomi- 
nate suitable  persons  to  fill  vacancies  :  Charles  Tracy,  Esq.,  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers, 
of  N.  J.,  Rev.  Dr.  Butler,  of  Mass.,  Schureman  Halsted,  Esq.,  and  Theophilus 
A.  Brouwer,  Esq. 

The  Committee,  after  due  consideration,  reported  for  re-election  those  whose 
term  of  office  had  just  expired. 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  gentlemen  named  were  declared  duly 
elected  Managers  for  four  years,  ending  May,  1870. 

On  motion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Canfield,  of  Brooklyn,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  new  Board  of  Managers  be  directed  to  meet  at  the  Bible 
House,  in  New  York,  on  the  third  Thursday  in  this  present  month,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  for  the  ensuing  year. 

On  motion  of  Chandler  Starr,  Esq.,  of  Conn.,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  when  the  Society  adjourn,  it  do  adjourn  to  meet  at  the 
Bible  House,  in  New  York,  on  the  second  Thursday  in  May,  1867,  at  nine 
o'clock,  A.  M. 


APPENDIX.  83 

The  following  delegates  from  foreign  countries,  and  from  our  auxiliary  so- 
cieties, were  reported  as  present : 

Rev.  Thomas  Phillips  and  Rev.  Thomas  Nolan,  from  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society ;  Rev.  Cesar  Pascal,  from  the  Bible  Society  of  France  5 
Rev.  Lachlin  Taylor,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  William  Ormiston,  D.D.,  from  the  Bible 
Society  of  Upper  Canada;  Rev.  Benjamin  P.  Stone,  D.D.,  from  the  New 
Hampshire  Bible  Society ;  Rev.  Daniel  Butler  and  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Win- 
throp,  from  the  Massachusetts  Bible  Society;  Rev.  Dennis  Piatt,  from  the 
South  Norwalk  Bible  Society,  Conn. ;  Theophilus  A.  Brouwcr,  Esq.,  President 
New  York  City  Bible  Society;  Archibald  M'Clure,  Esq.,  President,  Rev.  David 
Dyer,  and  Rev.  Alfred  A.  Farr,  from  Albany  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ; 
James  Rider,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Van  Buren,  Long  Island  Bible  Society; 
Rev.  A.  B.  Lambert,  President,  and  Dr.  James  Savage,  from  Washington 
County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ;  John  Lyon,  Esq.,  President,  and  Rev.  E.  W. 
Bentley,  Secretary,  from  Ulster  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  L.  H.  Van 
Dyck,  from  Montgomery  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ;  Rev.  Robert  Everett, 
from  Remsen  and  Steuben  Welsh  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ;  Ira  H.  Cobb  and 
Timothy  Hough,  Esqs.,  from  Onondaga  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ;  Rev.  Dr. 
Paddock,  from  Broome  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  Thomas  Jenkins, 
from  Utica  Welsh  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ;  Hon.  R.  H.  Cuyler  and  Hon.  Charles 
Hathaway,  from  Delaware  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y.;  Rev.  Wilson  Phraner 
and  Rev.  S.  I.  Prime,  D.D.,  from  Westchester  County  Bible  Society,  N.  Y. ; 
Rev.  R.  K.  Rodgers;  D.D.,  from  Somerset  County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Hon. 
B.  F.  Randolph.  President,  and  Rev.  B.  C.  Taylor,  D.D.,  from  Hudson  County 
Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.D.  L.  King  and  Rev.  R.  T.  Middleditch,  from  Mon- 
mouth County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  D.  C.  English,  Esq.,  from  Middlesex 
County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  S.  M.  Hammill,  D.D.,  from  Laurenceville 
Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  J.  V.  R.  Hughes  and  Wm.  French,  Esq.,  from  Nassau 
Hall  Bible  Society,  N.  J.;  Rev.  S.  W.  Hilyard  and  R.  T.  Haines,  Esq.,  from 
Union  County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  A.  M.  Palmer  and  William  Rankin, 
Esq.,  from  Essex  County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Adam  Stiger,  Esq  ,  from  Hun- 
terdon County  Bible  Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  J.  M.  Ogden,  from  Morris  County  Bible 
Society,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence  and  Willard  Hall,  Esq.,  from  Pennsylvania 
Bible  Society;  Rev.  D.  H.  Emerson,  from  Delaware  State  Bible  Society;  Rev. 
T.  V.  Moore,  D.D.,  from  Virginia  Bible  Society;  Rev.  J.  T.  Peck,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent California  Bible  Society. 

The  Society  then  proceeded  to  the  Academy  of  Music,  corner  of  Fourteenth 
Street  and  Irving  Place,  to  celebrate  its  Fiftieth  Anniversary  and  Jubilee  year. 
James  Lenox,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Society,  took  the  chair  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  Rev.  E.  P.  Rogers,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  read  the  148th  Psalm,  and 
offered  prayer. 

The  President  delivered  a  brief  and  eloquent  address. 


84  APPENDIX. 

The  Rev.  Gardiner  Spring,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  moved  the  adoption  of 
the  first  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  Report,  an  abstract  of  which  has  been  presented,  be 
printed  and  circulated  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 

I  should  be  ashamed  of  myself,  Mr.  President,  and  I  am  sure  I  should 
deserve  the  reproaches  of  this  Christian  assembly,  notwithstanding  the  unex- 
pected welcome  with  which  they  have  greeted  me  as  I  rise  to  my  feet,  if  I 
should  occupy  time  which  will  be  so  much  better  employed  by  gentlemen 
whose  voices  are  not  so  familiar  to  this  auditory  as  mine. 

Fifty  years  ago  I  stood  as  the  youngest  member  of  those  who  formed  the 
American  Bible  Society.  That  has  been  a  remarkable  providence  by  which 
my  own  poor  and  unworthy  life  has  been  conducted  up  to  the  present  hour ; 
and  I  desire  to  give  thanks  to  the  God  of  heaven  that  I  am  permitted  to  pay 
this  tribute  at  the  footstool  of  his  throne.  Were  I  to  utter  any  prolonged 
remarks,  I  would  select  for  my  text  the  words  which  Moses  called  the  people 
of  Israel  to  remember :  "  And  thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  led  thee  these  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  to  humble  thee,  and 
to  prove  thee,  to  know  what  was  in  thy  heart,"  and  "  to  do  thee  good  at  thy 
latter  end." 

But,  sir,  I  am  not  to  deserve  your  reproach  for  continuing  these  remarks. 
I  have  but  a  single  thought ;  it  is  my  earnest  desire  that  the  God  of  the  Bible 
shall  be  honoured  in  your  future  career  as  He  has  been  in  some  measure  in  the 
past. 

May  God  be  first,  God  last,  and  God  every  thing  !  All  glory,  as  it  was  in 
the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be,  to  the  Father.  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  P.  M'Ilvaine,  D.D.,  of  Ohio,  made  the  following 
remarks : 

I  have  one  request  to  make  of  this  assembly,  since  the  affectionate  and 
solemn  words  which  our  most  venerated  father  has  uttered,  in  all  probability, 
have  not  been  heard  by  the  greater  portion  of  the  audience,  in  consequence 
of  the  feebleness  of  so  advanced  a  period  of  life. 

Our  venerated  father  is  one  of  only  two  survivors  of  the  founders  of  the 
American  Bible  Society.  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  survivors  capable  of  being 
present  on  this  occasion.  We  are  exceedingly  happy  that  God  has  spared  him 
to  be  present,  and  has  given  us  the  privilege  of  his  presence,  and  to  hear  these 
devoted  and  solemn  words  from  his  lips.  We  know  not  what  we  shall  be  on 
the  morrow  at  so  advanced  a  period  of  life  as  our  venerated  father  has  attained. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  when  another  anniversary  of  this  Society 
shall  occur,  we  shall  have  the  privilege  of  thus  meeting  him,  especially  of 
hearing  his  words.  We  may  therefore  suppose  that  on  this  occasion,  as  on 
another,  he  has  made  his  farewell  address ;  and  perhaps  it  is  a  little  appro- 
priate that  I  should  say  these  few  words,  and  make  the  request  that  I  am  going 
to  make,  because  in  all  probability  there  are  very  few  besides  myself  who, 


APPENDIX.  85 

although  not  present  at  the  formation  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  because 
too  young  to  be  in  the  ministry,  were  cognizant  of  all  the  events  connected 
therewith.  I  saw  the  coining  away  from  my  native  town  in  New  Jersey  of  the 
Hon.  John  M.  Wells,  who  presided  over  one  of  the  first  meetings,  and  the  Hon. 
Judge  Boudinot,  one  of  my  neighbours,  who  was  the  first  President  of  the 
Society.  Remembering  those  times,  I  may  be  permitted  to  mention  the  first 
occasion  on  which  I  ever  saw  or  heard  the  voice  of  this  our  venerated  friend. 
Just  about  that  time,  when  I  was  a  student  in  Princeton  College  and  was 
attending  the  evening  prayers  (very  likely  Dr.  Spring  don't  recollect  it),  at  a 
time  when  there  was  a  very  great  seriousness  and  religious  impression  in 
college,  the  president,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Greene,  introduced  to  us  one  who  seemed  at 
that  time  in  such  feeble  health  that  it  could  hardly  have  been  expected  he 
could  have  attained  to  so  great  an  age. 

He  stood  up  before  the  students,  and  said  these  few  words,  which  made  a 
great  impression  on  my  mind,  and  always  remained  stereotyped  on  my  memory. 
Said  he  :  "Young  gentlemen,  I  was  present  when  I  saw  you  to-day  go  to  the 
refectory  for  your  mid-day  meal.  I  saw  the  greater  number  enter.  By  and 
by  those  who  had  lingered  behind  entered  with  difficulty ;  presently  a  few  more 
straggling  ones  came,  and  the  door  was  shut,  and  it  was  not  opened  to  them, 
and  they  entered  not  in,"  and  that  shut  door  was  the  text  of  a  short  but 
exceedingly  impressive  discourse  to  us  at  that  time.  It  has  never  passed,  even 
the  words  of  it,  away  from  my  remembrance. 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  since  we  all  are  in  these  circumstances  which  I  have 
just  related,  it  does  seem  to  many  of  us  who  have  conversed  one  with  another 
on  this  platform,  that  we  should  do  something  more  to  testify  our  respect  for 
our  valuable  friend  and  father  than  simply  to  be  silently  the  hearers  of  the 
words  he  has  addressed  to  us,  and  spectators  of  his  presence ;  and  therefore, 
before  the  resolution  is  seconded  or  another  word  is  heard,  I  request,  and  the 
request  will  be  met  with  joy  by  all  of  us,  that  this  audience  rise  in  testimony 
of  respect  to  Dr.  Spring. 

Immediately  the  vast  audience  rose,  and  remained  standing  for  some  time, 
in  silence  and  in  tears.     The  scene  was  most  impressive. 

The  Rev.  J.  T.  Peck,  D.D.,  President  of  the  California  Bible  Society,  said: 

Mr.  President :  In  the  name  of  one  of  the  youngest,  and  I  may  venture  to 

say  one  of  the  most  vigorous  of  our  auxiliaries,  I  rise  by  request  to  second  the 

resolution  offered  by  our  venerated  friend  and  father.     I  do  it,  sir,  without 

remark. — The  resolution  was  adopted. 

The  Rev.  Rufus  Anderson,  D.D.,  of  Massachusetts,  moved  the  adoption 
of  the  second  resolution.     He  said  : 

I  have  been  requested  to  speak  of  the  Bible  in  its  connexion  with  the 
unevangelical  world,  having  the  following  resolution  to  propose — 

"  That  the   Society  acknowledges  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  vast  acces- 


SO  APPENDIX. 

sion,  during  the  past  half  century,  to  the  means  of  Scriptural  knowledge  in 
the  unevangelized  portions  of  the  world." 

Mr.  President :  It  is  a  grand  peculiarity  in  Protestant  inissions,  that  in 
them  preaching  and  the  Bible  go  hand  in  hand.  And  since  the  Bible  must 
be  read  in  order  to  be  useful,  there  is  a  third  important  element  in  our  for- 
eign missions,  inseparably  connected  with  Bible  distribution,  and  that  is 
education.  The  people  must  all  be  taught  to  read  God's  blessed  Word. 
The  Romish  missions  in  China,  Japan,  and  the  African  kingdom  of  Congo 
were  conducted  on  a  very  extended  scale,  and  for  a  time  had  proportionate 
results.  But  they  withheld  the  Bible  from  the  people ;  and  their  missions, 
not  being  founded  on  that  rock,  but  on  the  sand  of  human  tradition  and 
authority,  fell ;  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof.  And  so  it  must  be  with 
every  mission  in  which  God's  Word  is  not  one  of  the  primary  agencies. 

So  deeply  imbedded  is  this  truth  in  the  Protestant  mind,  that  I  some- 
times have  feared  there  may  have  been  an  undue  proportion  of  our  ablest 
missionaries  employed  heretofore  in  Scripture  translations.  But  though 
Protestant  missions  may  now  have  somewhat  fewer  converts,  churches,  and 
native  preachers  than  if  there  had  been  more  of  preaching  and  familiar  inter- 
course with  the  people,  we  have,  nevertheless,  this  glorious  result  to  rejoice 
over — worth  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars — that  the  Inspired 
Oracles  have  been  translated,  transfused,  during  the  past  fifty  years,  into 
languages  spoken  over  more  than  three  fourths  of  the  unevangelized  world  ! 
To  speak  with  more  precision,  the  entire  Bible,  during  this  period,  has  been 
translated  into  thirty-nine  languages,  outside  of  Christendom,  embracing 
nearly  all  the  more  extensive  and  important  ;  the  New  Testament  into 
thirty-five  other  tongues  ;  and  portions  of  Scripture  into  still  forty-eight  others  : 
making  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  languages,  in  the  great  field  of  Chris- 
tian missions,  that  have  been  enriched  and  ennobled  with  portions  at  least 
of  the  Word  of  God,  since  the  American  Bible  Society  commenced  its  opera- 
tions. And  not  a  few  of  these  languages  had  first  to  be  reduced  to  a  written 
form.  These  translations  have  been  wrought  out  more  especially  by  mis- 
sionaries and  missionary  societies. 

And  we  come  now  to  the  department  of  printing  and  circulation,  which 
is  almost  exclusively  the  province  of  Bible  societies.  I  find  that  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  has  placed  more  than  $250,000  at  the  disposal  of  mis- 
sionaries of  the  American  Board  alone,  for  printing  and  circulating  the 
Scriptures,  for  which  those  missionaries  and  that  Board  are  profoundly  thank- 
ful. I  have  not  the  means  of  knowing  how  much  it  has  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  missionaries  of  other  societies  ;  but  I  find  that  the  sum  total 
of  your  grants  for  foreign  distribution,  to  a  large  extent  in  languages  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  Christian  world,  falls  but  little  if  any  short  of 
$800,000.  The  appropriations  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  for 
giving  the  Scriptures  to  the  unevangelized  nations,  during  the  past  half 
century,  I  have   estimated   at  $2,375,000;   making  a  sum  total  for  both  so- 


APPENDIX.  87 

cicties  of  more  than  three  millions.  And  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
this  is  for  countries  beyond  the  bounds  of  Christendom,  and  since  the  origin 
of  this  Society. 

How  many  volumes  of  Scripture,  in  whole  or  in  part,  have  been  printed 
in  these  languages  and  circulated  during  the  time  now  under  review  is  an 
inquiry  to  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  an  answer  entirely  satisfactory. 
But  this  I  know,  that  more  than  1,603,000  copies  were  issued,  in  the  languages 
of  India  alone,  in  the  short  space  of  ten  years  previous  to  1862.  I  sup- 
pose that  of  the  more  than  80,000.000  of  copies  which  have  been  issued  by 
Bible  societies  since  1804,  not  less  than  6,000,000  have  been  distributed  among 
the  nations  lying  outside  of  Christendom.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  this 
number  is  double  the  number  of  the  Bibles  believed  to  have  existed  in  Chris- 
tendom during  the  more  than  three  centuries  from  the  printing  of  the  first 
Bible,  in  1460,  down  to  the  era  of  Bible  societies.  And  it  is  a  far  greater  num- 
ber than  were  in  the  hands  of  mankind,  through  all  the  centuries,  from  the 
time  of  Moses  down  to  the  Reformation ;  thus  giving  us  a  most  impressive 
illustration  of  accelerated  progress,  in  these  modern  times,  in  filling  the  unevan- 
gelized  world  with  the  means  of  Scriptural  knowledge. 

And  what  has  been  the  influence  upon  the  benighted  nations  of  thus  trans- 
fusing the  Word  of  God  into  their  spoken  languages?  It  has  been,  sir,  just 
what  the  lighting  up  of  your  "  Central  Park"  is  in  a  dark  night.  Night  is  not 
thereby  converted  into  day.  The  distant  looker-on  sees  no  perceptible  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  darkness.  But  the  traveller  in  the  Park  finds  his  path 
illuminated,  and  goes  on  his  way  rejoicing.  Precisely  such  is  the  influence  of 
the  Bible  and  of  Christian  missions  in  the  benighted  regions  of  heathenism — 
a  light  shining  in  the  darkness,  illuminating  the  pathway  to  heaven.  There 
is  no  help  like  a  good  version  of  the  Scriptures  for  a  new  missionary  in 
acquiring  a  language.  There  is  no  argument  so  effective  as  the  Scriptures  for 
educating  the  masses.  For  every  man,  whatever  his  condition,  has  the  same 
right  to  be  taught  to  read  the  inspired  Volume  that  he  has  to  own  it.  The 
emancipated  slaves,  with  the  New  Testament  in  their  hands,  may  claim  it  as 
their  chartered  right  from  heaven  to  have  schools  lor  themselves  and  for  their 
children.  Every  volume  of  Scripture  is,  indeed,  an  appeal  from  high  Heaven 
in  favour  of  universal  education. 

While  experience  has  shown  that  the  Bible  and  the  preacher  must  ordi- 
narily go  together,  in  the  enterprise  for  reclaiming  the  heathen  world,  now  and 
then  we  light  upon  a  fact  which  shows  that  the  Holy  Spirit  sometimes  operates 
on  the  pagan  heart  by  the  printed  volume  alone.  Quite  recently  a  well  authen- 
ticated case  of  this  kind  has  come  to  my  knowledge.  It  was  that  of  a  young 
man  at  Yeddo,  the  capital  of  Japan,  who  seems  never  to  have  come  in  contact 
with  a  Christian  missionary.  This  young  Japanese  somehow  acquired  a  long- 
ing for  foreign  knowledge.  His  first  book  was  an  atlas  of  the  United  States, 
in  the  Chinese  language,  prepared  by  an  American  missionary,  and  he  thus 
became  greatly  interested  to  know  more  of  the  institutions  of  our  country. 


88  APPENDIX. 

One  day,  while  examining  the  library  of  a  friend,  he  found  a  small  Chinese 
Bible,  which  he  borrowed.  He  at  once  cordially  received  the  Scripture  account 
of  creation,  and  of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  into  our  world  as  the  Saviour 
of  men.  He  then  resolved,  if  possible,  to  get  possession  of  a  Bible  in  the 
English  language,  and  began  the  study  of  that  language  with  a  Japanese 
teacher,  and  his  prayer  to  the  God  of  the  Bible  was,  that  he  might  go  where 
that  language  was  spoken.  Breaking  away  at  length  from  the  paternal  home, 
on  the  plea  that  he  belonged  to  the  Heavenly  Father  and  must  believe  Him, 
he  got  on  board  an  American  ship  bound  to  Boston,  and  came  to  that  port. 
His  prayer  on  his  arrival,  as  he  has  stated  it,  was  in  these  words:  "0  God, 
if  thou  have  got  eyes,  please  look  upon  me  !  0  God,  if  thou  have  got  ears, 
please  hear  me  !     I  long  to  read  the  Bible,  and  to  be  civilized  by  the  Bible." 

The  prayer  of  this  Bible  convert — this  trophy  (as  I  doubt  not)  of  your  own 
Society — was  heard  and  answered ;  for  he  received  the  generous  patronage  of 
the  owner  of  the  ship  which  brought  him  to  our  shores,  and  is  now,  I  am  happy 
to  say,  a  student  in  one  of  our  best  New  England  academies ;  hoping  one  day 
to  become  a  messenger  of  salvation,  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  to  his 
benighted  countrymen.  And  how  natural  to  suppose  that  the  same  leaven 
may  now  be  working  in  many  a  thoughtful  mind,  among  the  myriads  in  those 
crowded  portions  of  the  Eastern  world  ! 

But  I  must  close.  This  Society  is  now  electrotyping  the  Bible  in  the  lan- 
guages of  the  Sandwich  Islanders  and  of  the  Arab  race.  How  different  those 
two  peoples  in  point  of  numbers  !  the  one  having  as  many  millions  as  the  other 
has  thousands.  Yet  I  hardly  know  which  of  these  two  enterprises  most  inter- 
ests my  own  mind.  It  is  not  long  since  thousands  of  the  poor  people  of  those 
far  off  Western  isles  grasped  this  hand  of  mine,  in  my  progress  through  the 
islands,  in  token  of  their  Christian  fellowship  ;  and  be  assured,  sir,  that  they 
will  joyfully  receive  the  beautiful  volume  of  God's  Word  you  are  preparing  to 
send  them.  As  for  the  version  in  the  Arabic  language — now,  or  soon  to  be,  in 
the  process  of  electrotyping  in  as  many  as  ten  different  forms — when  the  vol- 
umes shall  all  be  laid  upon  your  table,  at  a  future  meeting,  in  the  reformed 
Arabic  printed  letter,  emulating  the  most  beautiful  Arabic  manuscript,  they 
will  justly  be  regarded  as  among  the  moral  wonders  and  glories  of  the  age. 

Hon.  Peter  D.  Vroom;  of  New  Jersey,  said  : 

I  rise  simply  for  the  purpose  of  seconding  the  resolution  which  has  been 
offered  and  so  ably  advocated.  I  second  it  with  the  prayer  that  the  efforts 
which  have  been  made  for  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  will  be  successful. 

Address  of  Hon.  R,obert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  before  offering 
the  third  resolution. 

I  know  too  well,  Mr.  President,  the  valu~  of  time  on  such  an  occasion  as 
this  to  allow  myself  to  trepass  long  on  your  indulgence  this  morning.  I  could 
not  find  it  in  my  conscience,  however,  to  decline  altogether  the  repeated  re- 


APPENDIX.  89 

quests  of  your  Executive  Committee  that  I  would  take  some  part  in  these  An- 
niversary exercises.  Indeed,  I  should  have  felt  myself  quite  unworthy  of  being 
numbered  among  the  Vice  Presidents  of  this  noblest  of  all  Societies,  had  I  will- 
ingly absented  myself  from  your  Jubilee  to-day.  Why,  what  a  Jubilee  it  is, 
my  friends,  and  how  eminently  worthy  of  observance  by  all  who  take  an  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  mankind  !  What  other  Jubilee — moral,  social,  literary, 
political,  national — what  other  Jubilee  is  there  to  be  compared  with  it,  in  view 
of  the  enduring  influence  and  far-reaching  extent  of  the  work  which  it  com- 
memorates ?  What  other  association  of  men  has  a  right  to  indulge  in  the  same 
measure  of  joy  and  exultation  which  belongs  to  those  who  can  look  back  on 
fifty  years  of  faithful  and  successful  labour,  in  publishing  and  circulating  the 
Word  of  God  ? 

I  have  often  before,  Mr.  President,  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  doings 
of  this  Society,  even  in  a  single  year,  as  I  have  found  them  described  in  some 
one  of  its  Annual  Reports,  and  as  I  have  reflected  on  the  influence  which  must 
have  been  produced  by  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  Bibles  which 
have  been  distributed  through  its  agency  during  a  single  revolution  of  the  sea- 
sons. But  as  I  contemplate  to-day  the  aggregate  results  of  the  full  half  cen- 
tury which  has  elapsed  since  its  original  institution  ;  as  I  look  at  the  state- 
ments which  have  been  made  up  fo  ■  u  by  your  faithful  Secretaries,  and  mark 
the  grand  sum  tot  of  the  facts  and  figures;  as  I  think  of  more  than  twenty- 
one  millions  of  volumes,  containing  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
scattered  broadcast  over  the  world,  wherever  there  was  an  eye  to  read  them,  a 
hand  to  receive  them,  or  a  heart  to  understand  them,  I  confess  I  can  conceive 
of  nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  human  effort  or  human  accomplishment  more 
worthy  of  being  the  subject  of  grateful  acknowledgment  to  God,  and  of  triumph- 
ant celebration  among  men.  Oh,  my  friends  !  if  we  could  ascertain  at  this 
moment  something  of  the  secret  history  of  those  twenty-one  millions  of  vol- 
umes ;  if  we  could  trace  them  back  to  the  hands  into  which  they  first  fell,  and 
follow  them  down  through  all  their  successive  uses  and  ownerships ;  if  we 
could  track  them  wherever  they  have  gone,  over  sea  and  over  land,  many  of 
them  into  the  abodes  of  want  and  wretchedness,  many  of  them  into  remote  and 
barbarous  lands,  not  a  few  of  them  into  scenes  of  peril  on  the  stormy  deep, 
many  of  them  into  scenes  of  conflict  and  carnage  on  the  battle  fields  of  our  own 
land,  in  that  great  struggle  which,  we  thank  God,  has  resulted  in  the  rescue 
of  our  Union ;  if  we  could  gather  all  the  facts  into  a  single  focus,  and  perceive 
at  a  glance  how  many  hearts  they  have  gladdened  and  elevated,  how  many 
homes  they  have  cheered  and  blessed,  how  many  souls  they  have  lighted  and 
lifted  on  their  way  to  the  skies,  how  many  noble  lives  they  have  inspired  and 
animated,  how  many  heroic  deaths  they  have  consoled  and  comforted — what  a 
sublime  record  would  be  presented  to  us  !  What  is  there  in  all  the  regions  of 
romance,  or  in  the  whole  compass  of  the  drama,  that  would  equal  it  in  inter- 
est ?  What  is  there  in  all  the  boasted  achievements  of  real  life  that  would 
approach  it  in  importance  ? 


90  APPENDIX. 

Beyond  all  doubt,  my  friends,  we  are  dealing  here  to-day  with  the  great 
enginery  of  the  world's  progress,  with  the  greatest  of  all  instrumentalities  for 
social  advancement  as  well  as  for  individual  salvation.  Personally  or  politi- 
cally, whether  as  States  and  nations  or  as  individual  men  and  women,  we  can 
do  without  any  thing  and  without  every  thing  better  than  without  the  Bible. 
We  could  spare  Homer  from  ancient  literature  ;  we  could  spare  Shakspeare, 
and  Milton  too,  from  modern  literature,  and  there  would  still  be  something, 
there  would  still  be  much  left.  But  what  an  eclipse  would  be  experienced, 
what  an  aching  void  would  be  felt,  were  there  no  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  no 
Gospel  by  St.  John,  no  Psalms  of  David,  no  Prophecy  of  Isaiah,  no  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians  !  Where  would  this  world  of  ours  have  found  itself  by  this 
time,  had  those  Divine  and  matchless  voices  never  been  vouchsafed  to  us  ? 
Into  what  lower  deeps,  beyond  the  lowest  depths  which  have  ever  yet  been 
imagined,  of  superstition  and  sensuality,  of  vice,  and  villany,  and  barbarism, 
would  it  have  been  plunged  !  How  should  we  have  realized  in  such  a  case 
the  full  import  of  that  agony  which  one  of  the  old  prophets  intended  to  portray 
in  those  memorable  words:  "Behold,  the  days  come  that  I  will  send  a  famine 
in  the  land,  not  a  famine  of  bread,  nor  a  thirst  for  water,  but  of  hearing  the 
words  of  the  Lord :  And  they  shall  wander  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  north 
even  to  the  east,  they  shall  run  to  and  fro  to  seek  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
shall  not  find  it !"  God  in  his  mercy  spare  our  own  land  from  such  a  famine 
as  that !  Better  were  it  for  us  to  endure  war,  or  pestilence,  or  any  other  vari- 
ety of  famine,  than  a  famine  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 

Why,  there  are  single  books  of  the  Bible — there  are  single  chapters  of  the 
Bible — nay,  there  are  single  verses  of  the  Bible,  which  are  worth  all  that  was 
ever  written  or  uttered,  before  or  since,  by  human  pens  or  human  lips.  How 
well  did  the  poet  Cowper  say,  in  one  of  his  charming,  familiar  letters — it  was 
to  Lady  Hesketh,  I  believe — "  cHe  that  believeth  on  me  is  passed  from  death 
unto  life,'  though  it  be  as  plain  a  sentence  as  words  can  form,  has  more  beau- 
ties in  it  than  all  the  labours  antiquity  can  boast  of  !"  "  Read  me,  read  me," 
said  Oliver  Cromwell  on  his  death-bed,  "those  verses  from  the  fourth  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  in  which  the  apostle  speaks  of  having  learned, 
in  whatsoever  state  he  was,  therewith  to  be  content,  for  he  could  do  all  things 
through  Christ  who  strengthened  him.  That  Scripture,"  said  the  dying  hero, 
"did  once  save  my  life,  when  my  eldest  son  died,  which  went  as  a  dagger  to 
my  heart;  indeed  it  did."  And  each  one  of  you,  my  friends,  I  doubt  not,  will 
readily  recall  other  texts  with  which  there  are  similar  associations.  Indeed, 
there  is  hardly  any  one  to  whom  the  Bible  is  at  all  familiar  or  at  all  precious, 
who  has  not  some  favourite  chapter  or  verse  which  is  the  very  life  and  joy  of 
his  soul. 

But  I  may  not  detain  you  a  moment  longer  with  these  general  remarks. 
Let  me  only  express  the  hope,  that  in  some  degree  commensurate  with  the 
value  we  place  on  our  own  Bibles  will  be  our  willingness  to  contribute  towards 
sending  the  Bible  to  others.     I  rejoice,  Mr.  President,  that  your  Jubilee  is  not 


APPENDIX.  91 

to  pass  off  in  mere  empty  words  of  congratulation  and  compliment,  but  that 
you  have  resolved  to  signalize  it  by  at  least  two  works  of  the  highest  interest 
and  importance — one  of  them,  the  sending  of  the  Bible  to  the  freedmen  of  our 
own  land,  and  the  replenishing  the  supply  of  Bibles  throughout  the  whole  des- 
olated and  famishing  South  ;  the  other,  the  publication,  by  a  process  than  which 
there  is  nothing  in  the  "Arabian  Nights"  more  marvellous  or  more  magical,  of 
that  Arabic  version  of  the  sacred  Volume,  by  which  it  is  to  be  brought  home 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  people,  in  those  very  regions  of  the 
earth  in  which  its  great  scenes  were  originally  transacted.  And  now,  if  there 
are  men,  or  women,  or  children,  within  reach  of  my  voice,  who  have  not 
already  contributed  something — it  may  be  of  their  abundance,  or  it  may  be  of 
their  penury,  their  two  mites,  if  nothing  more — towards  these  noble  ends,  I 
trust  that  this  occasion  will  be  the  means  of  calling  their  attention  to  what 
ought  to  be  regarded  as  alike  the  privilege  and  the  duty  of  us  all. 

Let  me  hope,  too,  that  when  another  Jubilee  anniversary  shall  be  cele- 
brated, long  after  most  of  us  shall  have  gone  to  our  account,  it  may  prove  that 
the  next  half  century  will  have  been  even  more  abundant  in  labours  in  this 
great  Cause  than  that  which  has  now  closed,  and  that  the  whole  Christian  peo- 
ple of  our  land  will  see  to  it  that  those  labours  are  not  restrained  or  restricted 
by  any  deficiency  of  means  in  your  treasury.  I  would  not  under- estimate  the 
importance  of  other  societies — the  Tract  Societies,  and  Sunday  School  Unions, 
and  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Boards,  which  are  engaged  in  kindred 
efforts  to  hasten  the  coming  of  the  glorious  day  when  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  seas.  God  bless  and  prosper 
them  all !  But  even  as  the  Bible  stands  alone,  in  measureless  superiority,  in 
peerless  pre-eminence,  above  all  other  books,  so  have  the  societies  which  are 
devoted  to  its  publication  and  distribution,  pure  and  simple,  without  note  or 
comment,  a  paramount  claim  upon  the  support,  the  sympathy,  the  cordial 
co-operation  of  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  say,  my  friends,  in  fulfilment  of  the  agreeable 
duty  which  has  been  assigned  to  me  on  this  occasion,  that  we  do  not  forget 
to-day,  tliat  during  the  whole  existence  of  this  Society,  it  has  enjoyed  the  con- 
stant and  friendly  ooperation  of  that  great  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
which  was  the  immediate  forerunner  and  exemplar  of  our  own.  and  whose 
labours  and  accomplishments  have  been  far  greater  than  those  we  are  assem- 
bled to  commemorate.  Whatever  other  bonds  of  sympathy  between  us  and  our 
old  mother  country  may  have  been  weakened  or  sundered — and  we  trust  they 
will  all  be  restored  in  their  full  strength  at  no  distant  day — let  us  rejoice  that 
we  still  read  and  circulate  the  same  Bible,  in  the  same  noble  tongue,  in  the 
same  majestic  version.  And  most  gladly  do  we  hail  the  presence,  on  this  occa- 
sion, of  the  delegates  from  that  mother  land  and  that  mother  society.  There 
are  delegates  here,  too,  from  the  neighbouring  British  colonies.  And  I  am  glad 
to  know  that  there  is  at  least  one  delegate  also  from  that  sunny  land  from 
which  came  the  precious  Huguenot  blood,  which  so  many  of  us  are  proud  to 


92  APPENDIX. 

feel  mingling  at  this  moment  -with  other  currents  in  our  own  veins,  and  which 
quickened  the  pulses  of  the  first  two  illustrious  Presidents  of  this  Society, 
Elias  Eoudinot  and  John  Jay.  I  am  sure  you  are  all  eager  to  manifest  your 
gratification  at  the  presence  of  these  honoured  and  welcome  guests,  and  that 
you  will  adopt  by  acclamation  the  resolution  which  it  is  now,  in  conclusion 
my  privilege  to  offer  : 

Resolved,  That  we  welcome  to  our  Jubilee,  with  warm  hearts  and 
with  cordial  greetings,  the  representatives  of  sister  institutions  from  Eng- 
land, France,  Canada,  and  -elsewhere ;  and  that  they  be  requested  to  com- 
municate to  their  respective  societies  this  assurance  of  our  Christian  fel- 
lowship and  international  efforts  to  send  abroad  the  Bible  "for  the  healing  of 
the  nations." 

The  delegates  from  the  foreign  Bible  societies  responded  to  the  resolution  in 
the  following  order  : 

Ptcv.  Thomas  Phillips,  delegate  from  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  Having  the  high  honour  of  appear- 
ing among  you  this  day  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society.  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  at  the  outset,  and  I  do  it  without  the 
least  affectation,  that  while  I  greatly  value  the  privilege,  I  am  at  the  same 
time  deeply  sensible  of  the  responsibility  attached  to  the  position  in  which, 
through  the  kindness  of  our  committee,  I  have  been  placed. 

Twelve  years  ago  we  celebrated  the  Jubilee  of  our  society  in  England ;  and 
amongst  the  many  delightful  reminiscences  of  that  year,  we  shall  always  think 
with  pleasure  of  the  visit  paid  us  by  your  able  delegates.  The  appointment  of 
such  men  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  MTIvaine  and  Dr.  Vermilye  on  that  important  mis- 
sion conveyed  to  us  the  pleasing  assurance,  that  on  your  side  of  the  Atlantic  a 
deep  interest  was  felt  in  the  world-wide  operations  of  the  great  Parent  Bible 
Society.  My  esteemed  friend  and  myself  are  here  to  return  that  pleasant  visit, 
and  to  convey  to  you,  in  the  warmest  and  most  expressive  terms  which  we  can 
find  within  the  limits  of  language,  the  very  sincere  congratulations  of  our 
society  on  this  interesting  Jubilee  occasion.  We  are  here,  sir,  to  unite  with 
you  most  heartily  in  thanksgivings  to  Almighty  God  for  the  manifold  blessings 
vouchsafed  to  the  American  Bible  Society  during  the  first  fifty  years  of  its 
existence  and  labours. 

"Without  pretending  to  take  the  Jewish  Jubilee  as  a  model,  it  must  be 
right  and  proper  to  take  advantage  of  an  opportunity  like  this.,  which  may 
only  occur  once  in  a  lifetime,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  practically 
certain  high  and  holy  and  useful  objects.  I  can  testify  from  official  knowl- 
edge and  personal  knowledge  and  personal  observation,  that  our  Jubilee  year 
was  one  of  the  most  hallowed  and  blessed  seasons  we  have  ever  known.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  right  time  to  review  the  past,  and  to  set  out   afresh  and 


APPENDIX.  93 

with  redoubled  zeal  on  a  career  of  future  usefulness.  We  can  look  back  to 
the  year  of  Jubilee  as  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  our  history,  and 
the  impulse  given  to  the  good  Cause  at  that  time  is  felt  to  this  day. 

"We  invited  our  Christian  friends  throughout  the  world  to  unite  with  us 
in  commemorating  the  Divine  goodness  so  abundantly  vouchsafed  to  the  so- 
ciety in  its  remarkable  origin,  early  history,  and  rapid  progress.  We  asked 
them  to  thank  God  with  us  for  raising  up  such  an  institution  when  it  was  so 
much  needed,  for  preserving  it  when  it  was  so  fiercely  assail<  d,  and  for  the 
marvellous  success  which  accompanied  its  efforts  in  various  departments 
of  labour  both  at  home  and  abroad — success  beyond,  very  far  beyond,  the 
most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  founders  and  early  supporters.  For  the 
purpose  of  awakening  and  strengthening  this  feeling  of  gratitude,  we  called 
attention  to  the  simple  historical  fact  that  the  cry  for  Bibles  from  the  mount- 
ains and  valleys  of  my  native  principality  of  Wales  led,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  to  the  formation  of  a  society  which  should  supply  the  land  which  gave 
it  birth,  and  largely  contribute  towards  the  supply  of  other  lands,  and  all 
lands,  in  all  languages,  as  far  and  as  fast  as  possible. 

But  we  had  another  Jubilee  object — it  was  to  bear  a  renewed  public  testi- 
mony to  the  Divine  character  and  claims  of  the  Bible,  and  to  the  right  of 
every  individual  of  the  human  family  to  possess  it,  and  to  read  it  in  his  own 
vulgar  tongue.  From  a  thousand  pulpits  and  platforms,  the  threefold  truth 
was  uttered  with  no  uncertain  sound,  ';  The  Bible  is  from  God  ;  the  Bible 
is  for  man;  the  Bible  is  sufficient.'1''  Subsequent  events  proved  that  this 
part  of  our  Jubilee  programme  was  most  providential ;  for  when  the  enemy 
came  in  upon  us,  from  a  quarter  and  in  a  form  least  expected,  the  long 
and  loud  Jubilee  testimony  still  reverberated  in  the  ears  and  thrilled  in  the 
hearts  of  multitudes  of  our  people.  The  sermons  and  speeches  delivered  at 
this  time,  the  numberless  jubilee  papers  scattered  broadcast  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  it  is  but  just  that  I  should  add,  "  the 
Book  and  its  Story,'7  also  did  good  service  at  this  important  crisis. 

What  did  Jannes  and  Jambres  gain  by  withstanding  Moses  in  old  times, 
and  what  has  been  gained  by  their  imitators  in  our  day  ?  Let  them  say 
what  they  will,  the  people  who  read  Holy  Scripture  in  an  humble  and 
prayerful  spirit  have  said,  and  still  say,  "  Moses  is  right ?' — right  in  his 
history,  right  in  his  chronology,  right  in  his  genealogy,  aye,  and  right  in  his 
geology.  The  people,  the  multitudes  of  Christian  people,  do  not  hesitate  to 
go  a  little  further,  and  say  with  one  breath,  "  Moses  is  right,  and  Colenso 
is  wrong."  Yes,  sir,  we  feel  assured  that  the  Bible  will  outlive  this  re- 
newed attack,  unscathed  by  the  arrows  of  sarcasm  and  the  shafts  of  infidelity  : 
uninjured  by  the  severest  ordeal  of  honest  criticism  ;  benefited  by  the  discov- 
eries of  modern  science  ;  confirmed  in  its-  statements  by  the  testimony  of  the 
rocks  and  the  stones,  which  are  crying  out  in  that  land  rendered  so  sacred 
by  its  glorious  narratives  and  events. 

I  am   persuaded  that  after   attending  the  Jubilee   meetings  so  generally 


94:  APPENDIX. 

held,  and  reading  1he  books  and  papers  prepared  for  the  occasion,  many 
persons,  being  enlightened  and  reassured,  were  ready  to  say  or  sing : 

"  Should  all  the  forms  that  men  devise 
t  Assail  my  faith  with  treacherous  art, 

I'll  call  them  vanity  and  lies, 
And  bind  the  Gospel  to  my  heart." 

But  we  had  in  England,  as  you  also  have,  a  third  Jubilee  object.  We 
did  not  confine  ourselves  to  thanksgiving  to  God  and  testimony  in  behalf 
of  the  good  old  Book,  for  we  thought  it  was  the  right  time  to  give  an  oppor- 
tunity to  all  who  were  Bible  lovers  to  become  Bible  givers.  We  told  them 
that  we  intended  by  new  and  vigorous  measures  to  effect  a  wide  circulation 
of  the  Scriptures  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  people  generally  entered 
heartily  into  the  Jubilee  celebration.  The  pulpit,  the  platform,  and  the 
press  greatly  helped  us.  While  the  warm  heart  throbbed  with  love,  and  the 
opened  lips  sent  forth  songs  of  praise,  the  open  hand  placed  liberal  thank- 
offerings  on  the  Jubilee  altar.  Never  was  there  a  more  striking  illustration 
of  the  well-known  lines  : 

"What  great  results  from  small  beginnings  spring!" 

The  very  first  contribution  received  towards  the  Jubilee  fund  was  an  old  guinea 
sent  me  by  post  by  a  widow  lady  living  near  London.  It  was  on  this  golden 
foundation  that  a  noble  edifice  was  raised ;  around  this  small  coin  a  large 
heap  was  gathered,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  upwards  of  £110,000  sterling, 
and  exceeding,  considerably  exceeding,  half  a  million  of  your  dollars,  and 
all  this  without  any  diminution  in  the  ordinary  annual  receipts  of  the  society. 

As  you  may  suppose,  the  possession  of  so  large  a  sum  involved  a  heavy 
responsibility,  and  the  committee  besought  the  Lord's  help  and  guidance, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  spend  this  money  properly  and  profitably  for  the  good 
of  men,  and  the  glory  of  Him  who  redeemed  us,  not  with  corruptible  things, 
such  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  his  own  precious  blood. 

Relying  then  upon  the  Lord  for  his  guidance  and  blessing,  we  hastened 
to  convert  our  Jubilee  gold  into  that  which  is  "  better  than  gold,  yea, 
than  much  fine  gold,"  and  to  adopt  such  special  measures  as  seemed 
necessary  to  carry  out  our  practical  objects.  Special  deputations  were  sent 
to  the  British  provinces  of  North  America,  and  the  colonies  of  Australia. 
New  agencies  were  established  or  projected  with  a  view  to  extend  the  circula- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  in  various  foreign  countries.  India  and  Ceylon  largely 
shared  in  our  liberality;  and  as  the  Million  Testament  scheme  dovetailed 
into  our  Jubilee  work,  the  immense  empire  of  China  became  an  important 
field  of  labour.  The  continent  of  Europe,  more  especially  Holland,  Belgium, 
and  Germany,  received  large  grants  of  the  Sacred  Volume.  Ireland,  always 
treated  as  a  part  of  ourselves,  received  a  considerable  share  of  attention,  and 
the  grants  of  Jubilee  Bibles  and  Testaments  to  societies  and  schools  involved 
an  expenditure  of  many  thousands  of  pounds.  Nor  were  the  claims  of  home 
neglected.     Colportage  was    established  in  rural   districts,    and  in  crowded 


APPENDIX.  95 

manufacturing  cities  and  towns ;  thus  supplying  by  a  new  agency  the  valu- 
able services  of  our  auxiliary  societies,  and  to  meet  the  wants  of  those 
who  could  not  be  reached  by  the  existing  plans  of  operation.  Various  city 
and  town  missions,  with  all  kinds  of  benevolent,  educational,  and  religious 
societies,  largely  participated  in  the  benefits  of  the  Jubilee  fund.  It  seem- 
ed to  be  the  right  time  to  make  special  grants  to  hotels,  boarding  houses, 
asylums,  hospitals,  infirmaries,  railway  and  police  stations,  and  the  union 
houses,  for  the  use  of  the  inmates.  Nor  should  I  omit  to  state  that  advant- 
age was  taken  of  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  contribute  to  originate  a 
Benevolent  Fund,  with  a  view  to  administer  in  some  degree,  when  circum- 
stances demand  it,  to  the  relief  and  comfort  of  such  as  have  become  old  or 
disabled  in  the  service  of  the  society. 

It  may  be  added,  and  I  do  it  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  that  it  was 
during  the  Jubilee  season  that  other  and  special  modes  of  circulating  the 
Scriptures  amongst  the  very  poorest  classes  were  originated.  .Who  has 
not  heard  of  the  "Bible  women"  of  London?  This  work  also  may  be 
regarded  as  a  fruitful  offshoot  of  our  great  Jubilee  tree.  It  was  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Jubilee  that  a  lady  well  known  in  Bible  society  circles  as 
L.N.  R.,  the  author  of  the  "Book  and  its  Story,"  originated  a  system  which 
she  has  well  described  as  the  "  Missing  Link"  in  the  chain  of  Christian 
benevolence — a  system  which  has  worked  admirably,  and  is  still  carried  on 
most  efficiently  in  the  metropolis  of  England,  under  her  able  superintendence. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  the  Jubilee  year  gave  an  impetus  to  our 
work  which  is  still  felt.  It  is  a  gratifying  fact  that  the  yearly  receipts 
and  expenditure,  and  the  annual  issues  of  the  Sacred  Volume,  have  been 
gradually  but  steadily  increasing  ever  since  that  memorable  year.  A  week 
ago  our  anniversary  was  held  at  Exeter  Hall ;  and  at  that  great  meeting  it 
was  the  pleasing  duty  of  the  secretary  to  report  that  the  total  receipts  of 
the  year  had  amounted  to  £171.375  10s.  2d.,  and  the  distribution  to  2.296,130 
copies  of  the  Sacred  Volume;  bringing  up  the  grand  total  to  50.285.709 
Bibles  and  Testaments,  or  integral  portions,  in  upwards  of  170  of  the  world's 
languages  and  dialects. 

Before  I  proceed  further,  let  me  say  that  it  affords  me  the  greatest  pleas- 
ure to  find  that  my  countrymen  spread  over  the  "  States"  are  amongst  the 
most  liberal  supporters  of  the  Bible  Society.  They  have  been  trained  to  it 
in  the  old  country,  and  they  carry  with  them  to  this  land  their  old  Bible 
society  love,  and  hence  the  establishment  of  fifty-seven  Welsh  branch  socie- 
ties in  different  parts  of  this  great  country.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  visit  many 
of  these  before  I  return  home,  and  to  address  the  people  in  their  own  lan- 
guage— a  language  which  they  love,  and  which  I  also  love  as  much  as 
any  of  them.  It  will  afford  me  the  greatest  delight  to  remind  them  of  our 
well-known  Bible  society  motto,  "  Bibl  i  bawb  o  bobl  y  byd  ;"  which  being 
interpreted  means,  a  Bible  for  all  the  people  of  the  world. 

And  now,  what  shall  I  say  in  conclusion  ?      Although   the   British  and 


96  APPENDIX. 

Foreign  Bible  Society  may  claim  precedence  in  point  of  age,  extent  of 
labour,  i  nd  amount  of  expenditure,  you  may  feel  assured  that  we  look  with 
no  jealous  eye  upon  the  efforts  of  other  societies  having  the  same  or  similar 
objects  in  view,  but  on  the  contrary,  we  rejoice  in  their  success,  and  may 
it  please  God  to  bless  them  a  thousand-fold  !  But  there  arc  special  reasons 
why  we  should  sympathize  with  the  American  Bible  Society.  Had  I  ad- 
dressed you  some  years  ago,  I  might  have  called  you  a  child  of  our  own; 
but  now  that  you  have  reached  the  respectable  age  of  fifty,  we  shall  re- 
gard each  other  as  sisters — affectionate  and  beloved  sisters  in  the  great  and 
honourable  though  not  very  ancient  Bible  society  family. 

And  at  the  present  time — when  both  societies  have  grown  great,  when 
their  ability  to  do  goo.d  is  rapidly  increasing,  when  facilities  for  widely 
extended  operations  are  multiplying  on  every  side,  when  from  many  a 
distant  Macedonia  the  cry  is  heard,  "  Come  over  and  help  us  !;'  addressed 
perhaps  to  both  societies  simultaneously — what  shall  I  say  ?  Shall  I  take 
up  the  language  of  Abram  to  Lot,  "  Let  there  be  no  strife  between  me  and 
thee,  between  my  herdmen  and  thy  herdmen;  for  we  be  brethren?"  The 
world  is  before  us  :  there  remaineth  yet  very  much  land  to  be  possessed. 
Is  not  the  land  of  promise  Immanuel's  land  ?  In  his  name,  therefore,  and 
in  his   strength,  let  us   go  up  and  possess  it. 

It  is  my  heart's  desire  that  the  star-spangled  banner  of  the  United  States 
of  America  and  the  old  union  jack  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  may  henceforth  wave  together  on  the  world's  ramparts — recog- 
nised every  where  as  symbols  of  all  that  is  noble  in  enterprise,  honourable 
in  commerce,  just  in  legislation,  powerful  in  union,  and  sacred  in  religion. 

More  than  all.  it  is  my  prayer  to  God  that  these  two  great  Societies, 
the  greatest  Bible  societies  in  the  world,  may  always  proceed  hand  in  hand, 
and  work  side  by  side,  adding  translation  unto  translation,  sending  forth 
edition  after  edition  of  God's  holy  Word,  and  thereby  become  the  instruments 
of  spreading  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  truth,  and  freedom,  and  holiness, 
and  happiness,  to  earth's  remotest  bounds. 

One  word  more,  and  I  have  done.  In  the  review  of  past  success,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  present  prosperity,  and  in  the  prospect  of  still  greater  achieve- 
ments, we  will  not  forget  to  say :  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  onto  the 
British  and  Foreign;  not  unto  the  American  Bible  Society;  not  unfo  any 
individual  man,  or  set  of  men  ;  not  unto  our  Charles,  or  Hughes,  or  Steinkopff, 
or  Owen,  or  Wilberforce,  or  Teigninouth,  or  Bexley,  or  Shaftesbury ;  not 
unto  your  Boudinot,  or  Mason,  or  Jay,  or  Bradish,  or  Frelinglmysen,  or 
Lenox ;  not  unto  any  of  these,  or  all  these  put  together,  but  unto  the  Divine 
name  be  all  the  praise.  "  For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  the  power,  and  the 
slory,  for  ever  and  ever."  And  let  all  the  Christian  people  on  both  sides 
the  Atlantic  say,  Amen,  and  Amen. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Nolan,  B.   D.,  the   other   delegate   from  England,  a 


APPENDIX.  !>7 

minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  London,  then  rose,  and  spoke  nearly  as 
follows : 

Mr.  President :  The  terms  of  the  resolution  you  have  just  heard,  the 
welcome  to  your  Jubilee  that  it  offers,  the  "  warm  hearts"  and  cordial  greet- 
ings that,  it  mentions,  must  needs  awaken  deep  emotions  within  the  breast.? 
of  those  who  are  embraced  within  its  range;  and  you  maybe  sure  we  will 
ct  communicate  to  our  several  societies  your  assurance  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship and  international  efforts  to  send  abroad  the  Bible  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations."  And  yet,  when  I  consider  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion  and 
the  momentousness  of  the  interests  that  have  brought  us  together  to-day 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  to  be  present  at  your  Jubilee  and  to 
take  part  in  its  proceedings,  I  feel  that  any  allusion  merely  personal  must 
be  altogether  beneath  the  dignity  of  that  occasion  and  the  greatness  of  those 
interests.  Still,  I  cannot  but  recall  the  thrill  of  association  than  ran  through 
me  when  the  proposal  was  first  made  to  me  to  undertake  a  part  in  this 
honourable  and  onerous  mission.  The  prominence  of  American  affairs  for 
the  last  few  years  more  especially,  the  portion  they  must  occupy  of  the 
world's  history  for  that  period,  and  the  influence  they  must  exercise  upon 
its  destiny,  have  directed  public  attention  to  them  with  an  intensity,  and 
have  drawn  out  your  national  characteristics  into  a  boldness  of  relief,  that 
might  have  been  wanting  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

Your  interminable  territory,  your  teeming  population,  your  limitless  re- 
sources, that  astonishing  resiliency  of  character,  whereby  you  rise  at  once 
above  disaster,  and  regain,  as  it  were,  with  a  bound,  even  more  than  your 
former  elevation — these  all  evoke  feelings  of  overwhelming  intensity,  before 
which  the  prospects  of  other  countries  pale  in  their  lustre,  and  their  pigmy 
proportions  are  dwarfed  into  comparative  littleness.  But  when,  beside  all  this, 
you  are  enabled  to  add,  as  the  present  occasion  invites  us  to  do,  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  God  in  all  his  ways,  with  the  encouraging  assurance  that  He  will 
direct  your  paths,  then  the  picture  is  complete.  That  which  was  grand  be- 
comes enduring  also  ;  that  which  was  full  of  hope  for  the  country  to  which  it 
belongs  appears  likewise  fraught  with  the  seeds  of  blessing  to  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  and  of  peace  to  the  family  of  man.  Truly  the  associations  and 
suggestions  of  such  a  meeting  as  this  are  among  the  most  sublime  and  inspirit- 
ing of  which  the  human  mind  and  heart  are  capable.  That  feeling  is  acknowl- 
edged ;  its  spirit  is  evidently  shed  abroad ;  its  influence  is  felt.  I  believe  and 
am  sure  that  a  blessing  is  with  us. 

It  has  been  our  lot  in  England,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  to  celebrate 
the  jubilee  of  more  than  one  of  our  great  religious  societies,  and  it  seems  natu- 
ral upon  such  occasions  to  go  back  to  their  first  origin,  and  all  the  more  because 
of  its  calling  up  the  names  of  the  great  and  the  good  who  have  passed  away 
from  us,  who  have,  however,  bequeathed  to  us  their  example,  and  thus,  though 
dead,  still  speak.  My  colleague.  Dr.  Phillips,  has  already  mentioned  some 
honoured  names  in  connexion  with  our  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society :  and 


98  APPENDIX. 

on  Sunday  evening  last,  when  it  was  my  privilege  to  hear  the  reverend  and 
learned  Chancellor  Ferris,  of  your  University,  on  this  subject,  he  too  unfurled 
the  roll  of  worthies  that  belong  to  your  own  American  Bible  Society,  and  did 
honour  to  the  mighty  dead,  as  he  recalled  their  names  and  recorded  their  serv- 
ices. In  particular  (and  I  am  reminded  of  it  by  the  manner  in  which  my  dear 
and  right  reverend  friend  Bishop  M;llvaine  has  borne  testimony  also  to  the 
only  survivor  from  1816  now  present)  did  Dr.  Ferris,  with  a  voice  trembling 
from  emotion,  and  in  terms  touching  and  tender,  that  did  honour  to  his  own 
heart  also,  bear  witness  to  the  lifelong  services  of  his  friend  and  pastor,  the 
venerable  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring. 

In  reviewing  the  early  struggles  and  the  matured  success  of  great  works  of 
this  kind,  one  must  be  struck  with  the  hand  of  God,  made  manifest  upon  occa- 
sions with  Divine  interpositions,  for  they  are  nothing  less,  without  which  they 
could  not,  humanly  speaking,  have  held  on  their  way  or  accomplished  their 
object.  Such,  for  example,  was  the  discovery  of  stereotype  printing,  that  pre- 
ceded by  a  little  the  formation  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1804. 
By  means  of  this  discovery  two  objects  were  rendered  feasible,  without  which 
the  work  of  Bible  circulation  would  have  been  all  but  impossible;  I  mean  the 
power  of  multiplying  copies  and  of  reducing  the  cost  of  publication.  Is  not 
this  Jubilee  similarly  signalized?  and  shall  we  not  acknowledge  the  same 
merciful  hand  as  the  bestower  of  the  gift  ?  The  superb  appliances  that  belong 
to  your  magnificent  Bible  House  are  at  this  moment  busily  employed,  under  the 
experienced  and  accomplished  guidance  of  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  in  electrotyping  a 
copy  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures.  And  the  indispensable  importance  of  this  ap- 
plication of  science  to  this  purpose — a  result  as  much  in  advance  of  the  ordi- 
nary stereotyping  as  that  was  in  advance  of  any  thing  that  had  gone  before — 
will  be  obvious  from  the  fact  stated  by  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  that  with  all  the  appli- 
ances available  at  Beirut  and  Smyrna,  it  would  take  six  thousand  years  to 
plp.es  a  copy  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures  in  the  hands  of  each  of  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty  millions  of  human  beings,  who  are  accessible  through  no  other 
channel ;  and  that  even  with  all  the  advantages  of  electrotyping  now  at  work, 
it  will  require  six  hundred  years  to  do  the  same.  But  you  are  rising  to  the 
greatness  of  the  Macedonian  cry  sent  forth  to  you.  There  is  work  for  all  the 
presses  that  can  be  set  to  work  to  hurry  on  such  a  desirable  consummation. 
And  this  American  Bible  Society  has  most  cordially  acceded  to  the  request  of 
the  committee  in  London,  and  will  make  for  them  duplicate  electrotype  plates 
of  such  editions  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures  now  in  course  of  preparation  as  they 
may  designate,  without  charge,  the  only  stipulation  being  that  no  alterations 
be  made  in  the  plates  without  the  assent  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  To 
this  the  committee  in  London  returned  the  following  reply,  which  it  is  my  de- 
light as  well  as  my  duty  to  read  to  this  meeting: 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  have  received  with  peculiar  satisfaction  the 
noble  offer  of  the  American  Bible  Society  to  present  to  this  society,  free  of 
charge,  duplicate  electrotype  plates  of  such  editions  of  the  Arabic  translation  of 
the   Scriptures,   prepared  by  the   Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  as  the  committee  may 


APPENDIX.  99 

select  from  the  series  which  it  is  intended  to  issue  in  connexion  with  the  Jubi- 
lee of  the  American  Bible  Society  ;  and  the  committee,  whilo  accepting  the 
liberal  proposal,  desire  heartily  to  reciprocate  the  kind  and  Christian  sentiments 
by  which  it  has  been  dictated,  and  to  convey  to  the  Board  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  the  assurance  of  their  warmest  gratitude  for  the  generosity  evinced 
in  regard  to  the  work  in  quesiion,  and  trust  that  the  transaction,  so  honourable 
to  those  with  whom  it  originates,  may  tend  to  strengthen  the  many  friendly 
ties  which  unite  the  two  Societies  in  their  great  enterprise  of  Scripture  circula- 
tion throughout  the  world. 

Surely,  sir,  it  is  a  token  for  good  that  these  two  great  Boards  in  America 
and  in  England  are  animated  with  this  feeling  of  mutual  respect  and  generous 
confidence  towards  each  other  ?  Is  it  not  from  Him  who  causeth  men,  and 
boards,  and  nations,  to  be  of  one  mind  ? 

If  time  allowed,  it  would  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  trace  the 
hand  and  favour  of  God  similarly  manifested  in  the  events  that  were  over- 
ruled at  the  period  of  the  Reformation  for  the  furtherance  of  his  purpose  and 
the  spread  of  his  Word.  The  discovery  of  printing  by  Gutenberg  and  SchoBffer, 
of  the  mariner's  compass,  and  of  the  great  continent  of  America  in  1492,  were 
all  subsidiary  to  the  great  purposes  of  God,  and  intensified  the  power  and 
prcciousness  of  the  Reformation.  We  might  go  back  also  to  the  rise  of 
Christianity  itself,  and  we  might  in  the  triumphs  of  Alexander  the  Great  find 
an  unconscious  preparation  for  the  great  event  that  was  impending.  The 
Ptolemies,  the  Alexandrian  library,  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  the  ascendency  of  the  Greek  language  and  literature  at 
the  time,  were  all  overruled  as  disciplining  the  mind  of  man  for  what  was 
about  to  take  place,  and  prepared  many  beforehand  to  receive  the  tidings  of  "  a 
Saviour,  Christ  the  Lord."  Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  there  was  a  previous 
training  of  the  children  of  Israel,  during  their  long  bondage  in  Egypt,  for  the 
great  work  for  which  God  designed  them  ?  "  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  saith 
the  Lord  j"  ''this  people  have  I  formed  for  myself;  they  shall  shew  forth  my 
praise."  And  is  it  not  of  God  also,  this  concurrence  of  many  things  with  this 
your  year  of  Jubilee,  which  seems  to  place  an  open  door  before  you,  and  to  bid 
you  to  enter  upon  it  ?  Is  it  not  of  God  that  the  blessings  of  peace  and  union 
should  have  been  restored  to  you,  just  as  your  Jubilee  was  completed — that  the 
South  should  be  opened  to  your  Christian  efforts,  and  Ethiopia,  as  it  were, 
stretching  out  her  hands  to  you  for  the  Word  of  God?  You  have  already 
proved  yourselves  capable  of  rising  to  any  emergency.  You  leave  a  glorious 
past  behind  you,  only  to  enter  upon  the  still  more  glorious  future  that,  by 
God's  blessing,  awaits  and  invites  you. 

It  is  hard  to  pass  by  the  many  aspects  of  this  "holy  and  beautiful"  work 
that  might  well  demand  a  notice  ;  but  the  number  of  the  speakers  and  the  con- 
venience of  the  meeting  render  it  impossible.  I  should  like  to  have  remarked 
upon  the  noble  catholicity  of  your  constitution,  as  well  as  of  our  own,  that  has 
been  tested  by  the  experience  of  more  than  half  a  century,  and  that  has  gone 
far  to  realize  the  fond  aspiration  of  Lord  Bexley  many  years  ago,  when  he 
said  in  reply  to  some  opponent,  "If  we  cannot  reconcile  all  opinions,  let  us 


100  APPENDIX. 

endeavour  to  unite  all  hearts."  I  should  like  to  have  dwelt  for  a  little  upon 
the  nobleness  of  the  simple  object  aimed  at  by  both  Societies,  that  the  "  Word 
of  the  Lord  should  have  free  course  and  be  glorified."  Oh,  sir,  what  is  there 
that  in  any  degree  so  contributes  to  the  glory  of  God,  or  to  the  benefit  and 
blessings  of  the  human  race?  <:The  entrance  of  God's  Word  giveth  light." 
Sanctification  is  by  the  truth.  His  Word  is  truth.  It  is  able  to  make  wise 
unto  salvation.  It  is  profitable  for  every  thing — that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works.  If  one  of  the  great 
orators  of  antiquity  still  stirs  our  hearts  with  his  matchless  appeal  on  behalf 
of  science  and  polite  literature,  beginning  with,  "  Hcec  studia  juventutem 
alunt,  senectutem  oblectant,"  etc. — I  won't  trouble  you  with  the  quotation — 
how  much  more  are  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  God's  revealed  will  and  inspired 
Word,  deserving  of  such  commendation  !  "  When  thou  goest,  it  shall  lead 
thee  :  when  thou  sleepest,  it  shall  keep  thee ;  and  when  thou  awakest,  it  shall 
talk  with  thee."  The  Hon.  Mr.  Winthrop  has  told  us  that  we  might  part 
with  Shakspeare  from  our  literature,  or  even  with  Homer  from  antiquity ;  but 
he  is  not  prepared  to  give  up  a  book,  a  chapter,  or  even  a  verse  of  God's 
blessed  Word.  Oh,  no,  sir  !  to  deprive  us  of  that,  or  to  weaken  our  full  confi- 
dence in  it,  would  be  to  rob  the  young  man  of  his  guide,  the  matured  man 
of  his  companion,  the  rich  man  of  his  counsellor,  the  poor  man  of  his  stay, 
the  old  man  of  his  consolation,  and  the  dying  man  of  his  hope.  Oh,  my 
friends,  bind  it  for  ever  to  your  own  souls ;  prize  it  more  and  more,  in  your 
closets,  in  your  families,  in  your  churches ;  lose  no  opportunity  of  extending 
it  to,  and  of  sharing  it  with  others ;  and  in  so  doing  you  will  multiply  its 
abundance  and  enhance  its  preciousness  to  yourselves.  All  the  blessings  you 
possess  are  contemporaneous  with  your  possession  of  the  Word  of  God,  and 
their  continuance  with  you  depends  upon  the  extent  to  which  you  cherish  and 
obey  it. 

Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  God  •  and  the  title,  as  it 
were,  by  which  we  hold  it  is  the  honour  we  do  to  his  Word.  In  this  land, 
where  liberty  is  so  valued  and  freedom  is  cherished,  as  it  is  in  my  own,  let  it 
never  be  forgotten  that  every  kind  of  freedom  comes  from,  and  is  strengthened 
by,  the  free  use  of  the  Word  of  God.  Neither  your  social,  your  intellectual,  or 
your  political  freedom  were  worth  a  year's  purchase  unless  in  connexion  with 
spiritual  freedom  first.  Political  freedom  is  the  own  child  of  religious  freedom. 
Look  back  to  the  Reformation.  Was  not  the  experiment  then  tried  and  the 
principle  established  ?  Europe  then  was  a  vast  prison  house,  of  which  the  key 
was  at  Rome,  and  the  jailer  the  accomplished  Leo  X.  But  the  Bible  was 
emancipated ;  the  great  prisoners  went  forth — apostles,  prophets,  and  evangel- 
ists. Luther  gave  free  course  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  tribes  of  Ger- 
many were  enabled  to  hear,  in  their  own  tongue  in  which  they  were  born,  the 
wonderful  works  of  God.  The  Reformation  was  won,  and  the  foundation  was 
therein  laid  for  all  the  triumphs  that  freedom  hath  ever  since  achieved.  But 
you  will  observe  the  order  and  the  connexion.  Religious  freedom  first,  then 
the  others  followed  in  her  train.     Religious  freedom  awoke  first,  as  it  were. 


APPENDIX.  101 

from  the  long  trance  of  the  dark  ages ;  she  aroused  her  slumbering  sister  and 
bade  her  follow  in  the  resurrection. 

Was  it  not  something  of  the  same  that  took  place  in  England  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century?  When  the  church  missionary,  and  the  religious 
tract,  and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Societies  were  called  into  existence, 
darkness  might  be  said  to  have  covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  peo- 
ple ;  when  God  mercifully  interposed  again,  and  rolled  back  the  clouds,  and 
said,  as  it  were,  il  Let  there  be  light ;  and  there  was  light" — even  •'  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  Oh  yes,  sir, 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  "  All  in  all  "  of  the  Bible  :  it  is  his  finished  work,  redemp- 
tion completed  in  his  blood,  that  makes  the  Bible  precious.  The  spirit  of  it  all 
is  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  To  you  that  believe  it  He  is  precious.  This  is 
what  Dr.  Chalmers  called  the  "  portable  evidence "  to  the  truth  of  God,  or 
what  a  greater  than  Chalmers  called  the  witness  of  God's  Spirit  "bearing 
witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  Oh,  I  beseech  you, 
rest  not  satisfied  with  any  thing  till  you  have  arrived  at  this — the  "  Spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father." 

This  is  a  glorious  and  inviting  theme,  and  boundless  is  the  prospect  that  it 
opens  before  us.  But  I  must  deny  myself,  and  come  in  conclusion  to  the  object 
for  which  I  have  been  delegated  here — to  acknowledge  the  welcome  with  which 
you  have  introduced  us  to  this  great  meeting,  and  to  discharge,  "  pro  virili 
mea,"  the  commission  with  which  I  and  my  colleague  have  been  charged — to 
express  to  the  American  Bible  Society  the  heartiest  congratulations  of  the  com- 
mittee at  home  upon  this  auspicious  occasion ;  and  to  assure  them  of  the  high 
and  unalloyed  respect  that  they  entertain  towards  them,  as  well  as  of  the  deep 
sympathy  and  the  congenial  interest  that  is  felt  in  all  their  difficulties  and  in 
all  their  successes.  A  community  of  object  and  an  identity  of  means,  in  a  case 
like  ours,  are  the  most  reliable  grounds  of  mufaial  respect  and  lasting  friend- 
ship ;  and  in  this  matter  nothing  can  be  nearer  nor  closer  than  ours.  We 
serve  the  same  Master,  we  rely  upon  the  same  blessing,  we  are  met  by  the 
same  difficulties,  we  look  for  the  same  reward ;  and  this  over  a  field  so  wide 
that  it  renders  rivalry  impossible,  except  that  holy  one,  as  to  who  shall  love 
the  Saviour  most  and  serve  Him  best. 

I  was  invited  to  attend  a  meeting  of  our  committee,  held  on  the  Monday 
before  I  left  home ;  all  was  conducted  in  the  same  manner  and  spirit  that 
characterized  the  proceedings  of  your  own  Board  on  Thursday  last,  when  I  had 
the  honour  to  be  present.  All  was  sanctified,  as  with  yourselves,  by  the  Word 
of  God  and  by  prayer.  When  they  commended  my  colleague  and  myself  to 
God  for  our  journey  and  our  mission,  every  expression  was  full  of  brotherly 
love,  of  sympathy  and  joy,  rejoicing  in  your  joy,  and  giving  God  praise  and 
thanksgiving  for  his  goodness  to  you ;  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  it  will  be 
our  delight,  no  less  than  our  duty,  faithfully  to  report,  on  our  return,  the  cor- 
dial and  generous  response  on  your  part  with  which  their  greetings  were  met, 
as  well  as  our  debt  immense  of  personal  kindness  to  ourselves. 


102  APPENDIX. 

Why  should  it  not  be  so  ?  Why  should  any  root  of  bitterness  be  allowed 
to  spring  up  to  mar  the  harmony  that  ought  to  subsist  between  the  two  com- 
mittees, societies,  nations  ?  Sir,  the  man  that  would  foment  discord  between 
us  is  not  the  friend  of  either,  but  the  enemy  of  both.  I  do  believe  that  the 
hearts  of  the  two  countries  are,  in  the  main,  right  with  each  other.  Great 
occasions,  suddenly  arising,  stir  up  the  very  depths  of  the  soul,  and  expose 
what  lay  concealed  there.  When  the  dreadful  news  of  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln  reached  us,  at  which  humanity  stood  aghast,  and  freedom 
turned  pale,  the  heart  of  England  was  appalled  and  trembled  as  instinctively 
as  of  America  herself.  Even  small  occasions  also  afford  reliable  indications  of 
popular  feeling,  as  the  floating  straw  shows  the  direction  of  the  mighty  current. 
When  one  of  your  war  steamers — I  can't  pronounce  the  name — put  into  Belfast 
last  month,  the  commander  and  officers  were  received,  as  they  should  be,  by 
the  mayor  of  that  great  city,  the  New  York  of  Ireland.  I  remember  the  toast 
at  the  banquet,  to  which  your  officers  were  called  upon  to  respond — "  Unbroken 
friendship  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States."  When  I  read 
that  in  London,  I  was  so  much  pleased  with  it,  that  I  put  it  down  in  my  com- 
monplace book,  little  imagining  that  such  an  opportunity  as  the  present  would 
be  afforded  me  of  referring  to  it.  Again,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  make  the 
acquaintance,  on  my  voyage  out,  of  that  eminent  philanthropist,  your  distin- 
guished countryman,  George  Peabody,  Esq.  He  showed  me  the  autograph 
letter  of  the  Queen  of  England,  in  acknowledgment  of  his  munificent  and 
unparalleled  liberality  to  the  poor  of  the  metropolis — a  liberality  that,  if  report 
be  true,  he  is  about  to  repeat  in  the  loved  land  of  his  birth.  Our  noble  queen 
admired  him  all  the  more  for  the  tenacity  with  which  he  adhered  to  his  citizen- 
ship of  the  United  States,  for  which  he  respectfully  declined  the  highest  honour 
that  her  majesty  was  willing  to  confer  upon  him.  In  his  reply  he  gracefully  ex- 
pressed the  high  value  he  set  upon  the  letter,  as  testifying  to  "  the  kindly  feel- 
ing between  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States."  Another  instance  occurs  to  me  that  I  cannot  forbear  to  mention :  Ten 
or  twelve  years  ago,  when  his  Excellency  the  lamented  Abbott  Lawrence  was 
your  Representative  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  I  had  the  honour  to  meet  him  at 
the  annual  breakfast  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  held  at  a 
quarter  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  over  which  the  Earl  of  Harrowby 
presided.  His  excellency,  in  addressing  the  young  men,  remarked,  talking  of 
his  own  country,  that  America  and  England  united  in  friendship  might  defy 
the  world.  Suddenly  pausing,  he  added  :  "  No,  I  recall  the  word  'defy ;'  this 
is  no  occasion  of  defiance;  but  rather  let  me  wish  that  England  and  America, 
united  upon  the  basis  of  the  Bible,  may  become  a  blessing  to  the  world." 

One  word  more,  and  I  trespass  no  longer  upon  this  most  indulgent  meeting. 
By  an  undesigned  coincidence,  this  day  of  your  Jubilee  celebration  is  Ascension 
Day — fraught  with  hopes  and  associations  most  precious  to  the  Christian  heart, 
and  always  observed  in  the  Christian  Church.  Upon  this  day  the  top-stone 
was  placed,  as  it  were,  upon  the  work  of  redemption,  as  far  as  it  has  been 
perfected  hitherto.     By  the  incarnation  He  took  manhood  into  God,  and  capaci- 


APPENDIX.  103 

tatcd  himself  for  death.  By  death  He  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is,  the  devil.  By  the  resurrection  He  "declared  himself  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  with  power/'  By  his  ascension,  He  took  his  place  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  to  wait  until  his  enemies  should  be  made  his  footstool. 
Upon  this  part  of  his  purpose  He  is  pausing  still ;  but  God's  longsuffering  is 
salvalion  may  we  not  add,  in  a  certain  sense,  and  that  through  us?  Great 
privileges,  in  connexion  with  great  opportunities,  always  bring  with  them 
tremendous  responsibilities.  America  and  England  are  placed  in  the  forefront 
of  the  battle.  God  grant  they  may  both  be  found  faithful  to  their  high  trust  ! 
En  land's  prosperity  and  England's  religion  have  always  advanced  hand  in 
hand  together.  It  cannot  be  otherwise  with  America.  The  fondest  wish  of 
my  heart  for  both  may  be  expressed  in  words  familiar  to  most  of  us — that 
"  peace  and  happiness,  truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety,  may  be  established 
in  both  for  all  generations." 

In  the  absence  of  full  reports  of  the  addresses  of  Drs.  Taylor  and  Ormiston 
of  Canada,  we  take  the  following  brief  notice  from  the  columns  of  the  New 
York  Observer : 

Rev.  Lachlin  Taylor,  of  Canada,  after  a  pleasing  reference  to  the  previous 
speakers,  conveyed  Canadian  salutations.  He  regarded  this  as  a  providential 
occasion  in  the  political  and  national  history,  for  the  Jubilee  celebration  of  a 
Society  that  scatters  "the  Book"  broadcast  over  all  the  world.  In  the  Jewish 
year  of  jubilee  the  trump  of  freedom  sounded  for  all,  and  it  was  fitting  that 
the  emancipation  of  millions  and  this  celebration  should  occur  together.  He 
offered  a  sincere  and  poetical  tribute  to  the  memory  of  President  Lincoln,  and, 
after  a  brief  speech,  gave  way  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ormiston,  of  Canada,  who 
heartily  concurred  in  the  expressions  of  sympathy  and  congratulation  which 
had  been  offered  by  the  other  delegates ;  and  as  he  first  saw  the  light  in  the 
land  of  the  mountain  and  the  flood,  of  the  heather  and  the  broom,  where  he 
first  learned  at  a  mother's  knee  to  read  the  Bible,  and  where  he  learned  from 
it  the  way  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  he  would  bring  also  a  voice  of 
greeting  and  good  will  from  the  banks  "of  the  Clyde  as  well  as  from  Canada. 
The  Bible  cause  is  commended  by  its  catholicity  to  all;  its  work  is  to  give  the 
Holy  Word  to  every  human  being.  God  has  given  resources  of  mind  and  ma- 
terial enough  to  give  the  Bible  to  every  creature  within  the  next  fifty  years. 
Has  God  created  mouths  for  which  He  has  not  created  food  ?  And  has  He  not 
created  material  enough  and  mind,  that,  inspired  by  Him,  shall  develope  this 
material  for  the  multiplying  and  spreading  of  his  Holy  Word?  Is  it  said  that 
there  are  not  agencies  enough  to  do  this  work  ?  Agencies  !  why,  what  are  all 
our  congregations  about?  Poor,  withered,  rusting  souls,  all  through  the  land, 
are  literally  dying  for  want  of  something  to  do.  As  he  came  to  this  city  a  year 
ago,  he  stopped  at  the  house  of  an  aged  woman  who  long  years  ago  found  her 
Saviour  in  the  blessed  Bible ;  and  having  found  Him,  she  at  once  asked  what 
she  could  do  for  Him.     It  seemed  natural  that,  as  the  Bible  had  led  her  to 


104  APPENDIX. 

Christ,  she  should  devote  her  energies  to  spreading  the  Bible.  And  from  that 
day  she  had  devoted  all  that  she  could  spare  from  the  labour  of  her  hands  to 
send  Bibles  to  others  ;  and  he  saw  the  channel  worn  in  her  aged  hands  by  the 
needle,  which  ceased  not  to  ply  while  she  told  him  of  her  love  and  work  for 
Christ,  and  that  by  God's  help  she  had  been  able  thus  to  earn  $1,000  for  the 
Bible  cause.  And  this  same  woman,  during  one  year,  earned  a  Bible  a  day — 
365  copies  during  the  year,  by  her  consecrated  industry.  Dr.  Ormiston  made 
most  telling  and  practical  application  of  this  and  other  facts  to  the  Marys  and 
Marthas  in  the  assembly,  urging  all  to  distinguish  this  Jubilee  year  by  per- 
sonal effort.     The  audience  united  in  singing,  "  The  year  of  Jubilee  is  come." 

Rev.  Cesar  Pascal,  delegate  from  the  Bible  Society  of  France,  said: 

Christian  Friends:  When  I  ask  myself  what  entitles  me  to  represent  at 
this  great  Jubilee  gathering  the  Bible  Society  of  France,  I  find  no  other  title 
to  this  flattering  distinction  but  my  sympathy  with  the  Biblical  work  and  the 
noble  and  glorious  republic  of  the  United  States.  It  would  have  been  easy 
for  my  brethren  in  France  to  find  a  delegate  more  authorized  by  age,  talents, 
or  services  rendered,  but  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  send  you  a  more  sincere 
friend.  I  will  even  say  that  by  selecting  me  they  have  found  the  man  in 
whom  are  embodied  the  feelings  of  fraternity  and  devotedness  they  have  ever 
cherished  toward  you.  Hence  I  have  not  hesitated  to  accept  the  important 
and  distant  mission  offered  me,  assured  as  I  was,  by  sympathetic  presentiments, 
that  you  would  receive  me  with  a  cordiality  equal  to  that  which  I  was  to 
bring  in  your  midst. 

And  now,  American  brethren,  I  am  happy  to  meet  you  under  these  pleasant 
and  solemn  circumstances.  I  gladly  stand  before  you  to  offer  you  the  tribute 
of  sympathy,  of  gratitude,  and  of  congratulation,  which  the  "  Bible  Society  of 
France"  has  commissioned  me  to  bring  you  from  across  the  waters. 

You  have  extended  to  it  a  fraternal  invitation  to  take  part  in  these  Jubilee 
exercises,  and  it  has  hastened  to  choose  a  representative  who  would  mingle  his 
thanksgivings  with  yours,  and  his  petitions  with  those  you  address  to  heaven 
for  the  prosperity  of  your  country  and  your  Society.  For  we,  too,  evangelical 
Christians  of  France,  are  thankful  to  God  for  the  signal  protection  He  has  ever 
vouchsafed  to  America,  and  particularly  for  the  happy  issue  to  which  He  has 
brought  the  long  and  terrible  crisis  through  which  you  have  just  passed  with  a 
devotedness,  a  courage,  and  a  firmness  which  have  justly  earned  for  you  the 
admiration  of  the  civilized  world.  And  why  should  not  our  hearts  be  filled 
with  gratitude  as  well  as  yours  ?  What  God  has  caused  to  triumph  on  this 
new  continent  is  not  simply  the  cause  of  the  United  States,  but  that  of 
humanity  itself — the  holy  cause  of  liberty  and  justice,  for  which  you  have  had 
the  triple  glory  of  struggling,  of  suffering,  and  overcoming.  Nor  have  the 
Protestant  churches  of  France  ever  offered  so  many  fervent  prayers  for  you  as 
during  the  past  five  years.  Your  great  trial  has  revealed  to  them  the  strength 
of  the  bonds  of  sympathy  which  unite  them  to  you  ;  and  the  proofs  they  have 


APPENDIX.  105 

given  you  of  their  lively  interest  have  been  so  diverse  and  so  expressive,  that 
\vc  can  say  in  truth  that  they  have  morally  shared  your  vicissitudes — your 
sadness,  your  mourning,  your  tears,  as  well  as  your  gratitude,  your  joys,  and 
your  thanksgivings. 

To  these  feelings  which  you  have  called  forth  as  a  nation,  and  which  are 
common  to  all  Protestants  in  France,  the  Bible  Society  of  France  adds  affection- 
ate feelings  of  Christian  brotherhood  toward  the  American  Bible  Society;  for 
the  two  Societies  are  bound  together  by  those  sweet  and  powerful  ties  which 
spring  out  of  a  perfect  oneness  of  faith,  of  spirit,  and  end.  Our  Bible  Society 
is,  like  yours,  founded  upon  a  belief  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  i  recognises  and  proclaims  as  the  infallible  and  sovereign  rule  of  doc- 
trine and  life.  Like  your  Society,  ours  labours  with  a  truly  liberal  spirit- 
rising  above  ecclesiastical  differences,  it  admits  among  its  members  indiscrim- 
inately the  faithful  of  any  evangelical  denomination,  and  distributes  to  all  the 
Word  of  Life;  to  those  of  Independent,  Wcsleyan,  Baptist,  and  Lutheran 
churches,  as  well  as  those  of  the  venerable  French  Reformed  Church.  Finally, 
like  your  Society,  its  aim  is  to  place  the  Bible  in  every  family,  that  it  may  be 
as  a  domestic  altar,  sanctifying  the  trials  and  joys  of  home  ;  and  to  scatter  the 
Sacred  Sheet  wherever  the  Lord  shall  present  an  open  door  and  furnish  the  means. 

From  this  ensemble  of  similarity  and  fraternal  relations  results,  for  the 
Bible  Society  of  France,  that  sympathy,  already  of  long  date  and  deep,  which 
it  cherishes  for  you,  and  of  which  my  presence  among  you  must  be  a  certain 
pledge.  Hence  you  will  not  wonder  that  our  society  has  seen  with  a  joy  that 
can  be  equalled  only  by  yours,  the  enlarging  from  year  to  year  of  the  means 
and  the  influence  of  your  powerful  Association,  which  numbers  already  by 
millions  the  sacred  volumes  it  has  distributed.  We  remember  with  emotion 
the  beautiful  spectacle  your  Society  offered  during  the  years  of  fratricidal 
struggle  which  still  saddens  many  hearts.  Whilst  such  a  variety  of  interests 
suffered ;  whilst  the  financial  crisis  weighed  heavily  upon  all  citizens,  and  the 
national  debt  ceased  to  be  computed  by  millions,  the  American  Bible  Society 
had  means  in  such  abundance  that  it  increased  its  operations,  established  new 
and  numerous  auxiliaries,  and  enlarged  by  thousands  its  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures.  Ah  !  you  are  right,  dear  brethren,  in  saying  that  the  smile  of 
God  has  been  upon  your  work  as  well  as  your  country.  The  protection  of  the 
Almighty  has  kept  pace  with  your  difficulties  ;  so  that,  far  from  hiding  it  from 
human  view,  perils  have  only  made  it  the  more  striking.  You  have  under- 
stood, honoured  friends,  that  such  blessings  imposed  upon  you  the  duty  of 
greater  efforts,  more  zeal  and  activity ;  and  with  joy  and  unanimity  you  have 
resolved  to  consecrate  yourselves  more  fully  and  generally  to  your  great  task, 
so  that  no  part  of  it  could  be  neglected.  Your  rich  country  invites  evermore 
the  children  of  men,  without  distinction  of  race  or  nationality,  to  share  its 
abundance.  To  all  those  who,  through  the  holy  path  of  labour,  seek  to  reach 
a  better  condition,  it  offers  precious  resources,  whose  efficacy  is  certain  with 
the  blessing  of  God.     This  is  what  your  Society  aims  to  do  for  the  eternal 


106  APPENDIX. 

treasures  of  which  the  Bible  is  the  inexhaustible  mine.  It  will  offer  to  all, 
without  exception,  the  precious  means  of  securing  a  moral  and  spiritual  con- 
dition better  already  in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come  a  place  in  the 
eternal  habitations.  This  is,  brethren,  fulfilling  at  once  the  duties  of  the 
Christian  and  the  citizen,  and  this  country  must  be  grateful  to  your  Society  for 
all  it  will  do  in  this  direction.  For  if  there  is  a  well-established  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  it  is,  that  to  the  Bible  the  country  owes  its 
powerful  institutions,  its  fruitful  liberty,  which  excites  the  jealousy  of  many 
nations,  its  wonderful  prosperity,  and  its  numerous  works  of  evangelization 
and  benevolence.  The  Bible  has  given  it  its  prominent  place  in  the  world. 
It  is  with  reason,  American  friends,  that  you  consider  your  fidelity  to  the  Word 
of  God  as  the  safeguard  of  all  your  liberties,  and  the  source  of  all  your  pros- 
perity. If  ever  (forbid  it,  God  !■)  this  Bible,  which  it  is  your  mission  to  give  to 
the  whole  world,  were  taken  away  from  you,  and  human  traditions  of  any  kind 
were  substituted  in  its  place,  I  assert,  with  all  the  authority  which  history 
gives  me,  it  would  be  the  downfall  of  the  greatness  of  the  United  States. 
They  would  decline  by  degrees,  and  their  decay,  though  perhaps  slow,  would 
be  none  the  less  sure  and  deep.  Looked  at  from  this  high  standpoint,  the  des- 
tinies of  your  country  rest  to  a  great  e  tent,  under  God,  with  societies  like 
this.  How  noble  is  your  task ;  but  how  heavy  your  responsibility  !  May 
God,  without  whose  blessing  all  efforts  are  powerless,  give  you  to  rise  more 
and  more  to  the  height  of  your  mission  !  May  your  country  and  your  Bible 
Society  continue  to  enjoy  his  favour,  and  may  both  be  led  to  the  high  destinies 
He  has  in  store  for  them  ! 

The  Rev.  Isaac  G.  Bliss,  of  Constantinople,  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  we  celebrate  this  Jubilee  with  gratitude  to  God  for  his 
favour  in  the  past,  with  hope  for  the  future,  with  love  for  all  who  love  his 
Word,  and  with  enlarged  purposes  for  its  wider  circulation. 

Mr.  President:  I  am  most  happy  to  move  this  resolution,  for  I  am  con- 
fident that  the  heart  of  each  person  responds  most  joyfully  to  the  sentiments  it 
contains.  The  Jews  of  old  hallowed  the  fiftieth  year,  and  caused  the  trumpet 
of  jubilee  to  be  sounded  throughout  the  land.  I  think,  sir,  that  the  Treasurer 
would  have  been  sustained  by  this  Society  if  he  had  authorized  me  to  bring 
from  Egypt  or  Judea  a  genuine  ram's  horn  trumpet,  with  which  to  sound  forth 
our  praise  to  God  and  our  gratitude  for  the  success  with  which  He  has  crowned 
the  past  efforts  of  this  Society,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  But,  sir,  without 
ram's  horn  or  trumpet,  we  will  praise  the  Lord  for  his  mighty  acts  ;  we  will 
praise  Him  for  his  excellent  greatness.  The  resolution  says  that  we  celebrate 
this  Jubilee  with  hope  for  the  future.  Every  day  the  work  spreads,  and  the 
Master  is  true  to  his  promise.  But  we  say  we  celebrate  this  Jubilee  with  love 
for  all  who  love  his  Word.  Yes,  sir,  with  love  for  all  who  love  his  Word,  of 
every  family,  of  every  sect,  of  every  nation,  of  every  kindred,  on  the  face  of  all 
the  earth ;  for  love  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law.     The  resolution  so  says  that 


APTENDIX.  107 

we  celebrate  this  Jubilee  with  enlarged  purposes,  for  the  wider  circulation  of 
the  Word  of  God.  Yes,  sir :  with  these  purposes,  every  one  of  them  riveted  in 
the  centre  of  each  heart,  we  propose  to  control  all  love,  all  ambition  j  to  con- 
trol all  selfishness,  that  we  may  not  fail  to  accomplish  just  that  which  our 
Master  wishes  us  to  accomplish,  not  only  in  this  good  native  land  of  ours,  but 
in  all  the  earth. 

I  cannot  but  feel  honoured  with  the  position  assigned  me  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  American  Bible  Society  in  the  Levant — an  area  of  more  than 
1,200,000  square  miles,  and  equal  to  the  United  States  of  America,  exclusive 
of  the  territories.  It  contains  a  population  of  more  than  50,000.000,  made  up 
of  ten  distinct  classes,  or  I  may  say  races  of  men,  using  a  variety  of  languages 
and  dialects,  which  I  presume  can  be  found  in  no  other  portion  of  the  world. 
Is  it  not  strange,  sir,  that  the  land  where  was  the  first  home  of  our  race,  where 
was  our  earliest  civilization,  where  our  Saviour  lived  and  died,  where  the 
Bible  originated,  is  at  this  day,  in  this  eighteenth  century,  so  destitute  of  the 
Word  of  God  ?  There  have  not  been  circulated  as  yet,  in  all  that  broad  land, 
half  a  million  copies  of  the  Scriptures.  Within  the  past  eight  years,  during 
which  I  have  been  the  representative  of  this  Society  in  the  Levant,  we  have 
been  permitted  by  this  Society,  in  conjunction  with  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  of  England,  to  put  into  circulation  by  sale,  at  fully  one  third 
the  cost,  nearly  200,000  copies.  Sir,  the  American  Bible  Society  have  gone 
through  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  that  land,  opening  there  71,000  Bibles; 
the  rest  belong  to  our  fund  across  the  ocean.  We  have  received  into  the 
treasury  of  New  York,  through  my  hands,  more  than  $22,000,  and  more 
than  $28,000  have  gone  to  the  treasury  in  London,  making  in  all  more  than 
$51,000  contributed  by  the  people  of  Turkey — the  poor,  downtrodden  people 
of  Turkey — for  the  Bibles  they  have  received.  The  number  of  copies  of  the 
Scripture  thus  paid  for  in  Turkey  go  right  where  they  are  designed  to  go.  If 
you  can  get  ten  piasters  out  of  a  Turk  for  a  pocket  Testament,  if  you  can  get 
any  thing  for  a  Bible,  it  makes  sure  that  that  Bible  will  be  read,  and  that  it 
will  be  the  means  of  the  salvation,  if  not  of  the  man  receiving  it,  at  least  of 
some  one  connected  with  him. 

Now,  sir,  we  have  put  these  200.000  copies  of  the  Scriptures  and  its  parts 
into  circulation,  and  in  the  face  of  an  opposition  which  you  can  hardly  under- 
stand. I  might  show  you  in  detail  what  this  opposition  arrayed  against  us  is  ; 
but  at  this  time  I  will  only  ask  you  to  call  to  mind  what  Turkey  is  ;  what 
Mohammedan  intolerance  and  exclusiveness  is ;  what  the  religion  of  Islam 
implies,  and  then  tell  you  there  are  21.000,000  of  Mohammedans  in  Turkey — 
an  empire  the  very  laws  and  purpose  of  which  are  to  suppress,  if  possible,  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  Against  these  Mohammedans  there  are  arrayed 
15,000,000  of  corrupt  nominal  Christians,  possessed  of  a  half  heathen  civiliza- 
tion, and  making  use  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  a  half  heathen  religion. 
There  are  monasteries  by  the  hundred  and  cloisters  by  the  thousand,  all  of 
which  are  watching  with  a  spirit  of  the  intensest  anxiety  any  feeling  of  unea- 


108  APPENDIX. 

siness  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Notwithstanding  all  this  opposition,  we  have 
done  a  good  work  in  getting  so  many  copies  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of 
the  people.  There,  in  the  great,  wicked  city  of  Constantinople,  we  have  sold 
4,775  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  have  received  therefor  $3,000.  The  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  for  the  Scriptures  which  is  found  in  some  parts  of  Turkey 
is  repressed  by  the  cloisters  wherever  repression  is  possible ;  yet  in  one  of  the 
provinces,  in  the  course  of  eight  years,  more  than  8,000  copies  of  the  Scriptures 
have  been  sold  to  poor  people — to  very  poor  people. 

Now,  I  presume  you  would  all  like  to  hear  some  stories.  We  are  now  in 
Turkey,  but  will  go  into  Egypt.  We  will  go  half  way  up  the  Nile,  and  there, 
about  twenty  miles  distant  from  the  river,  you  will  find  a  poor  woman  who 
has  been  hard  at  work,  and  who  walked  twenty  miles  and  back,  barefoot,  in 
the  sands  of  Egypt,  in  order  to  get  possession  of  an  Arabic  Bible.  After  hav- 
ing reached  the  missionary's  house,  she  presented  herself,  and  asked  if  Bibles 
were  sold  there.  When  told  they  were,  she  was  asked  if  she  could  read.  She 
then  took  up  a  New  Testament,  and  being  almost  blind,  put  it  close  up  to  her 
eyes.  After  having  read  a  chapter,  she  told  in  her  own  words  what  it  was 
about.  She  then  asked  if  she  could  not  have  a  Bible.  A  Bible  was  given  her, 
and  she  immediately  set  out  again  on  her  homeward  track  over  the  burning 
sands.  Go  with  me,  if  you  please,  into  Mesopotamia ;  I  will  point  you  to  a 
man  who  has  recently  obtained  a  Bible.  A  few  years  ago  he  felt  in  his  heart 
a  desire  to  know  something  more  of  the  contents  of  the  Bible.  There  was  but 
one  Bible  in  the  village,  and  that  was  in  the  ancient  Armenian  language.  He 
went  to  the  man  who  owned  it,  and  offered  the  entire  avails  of  his  silk  crop 
for  it,  and  was  refused.  I  don't  suppose  that  the  value  of  his  silk  crop  would 
compare  with  some  of  the  incomes  of  this  city,  but  it  was  all  he  had.  The 
man  said,  "I  must  have  a  Bible;  I  will  go  to  Jerusalem."  On  his  way 
thither  he  came  to  a  city  called  Cesarea,  where  he  found  a  Bible  in  the  ancient 
Armenian  language,  which  was  offered  him  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  piasters, 
or  about  fourteen  dollars.  But  thinking  that  he  might  find  one  cheaper,  he 
declined  to  take  it.  He  reached  at  length  a  town  near  the  place  where  Paul 
was  born,  and  found  a  copy  of  an  Armenian  Bible  for  eight  hundred  piasters, 
or  thirty-seven  dollars.  He  hesitated  whether  to  take  it  or  not,  but  finally 
determined  to  go  to  Jerusalem.  When  he  arrived  there,  he  could  not  find  a 
single  copy  of  the  Word  of  God ;  but  he  did  find  a  few  tracts  designed  to  show 
that  the  religion  of  the  Bible  was  a  false  religion.  As  he  could  not  get  a 
Bible,  he  was  persuaded  to  take  some  three  or  four  of  these  tracts.  He 
returned  home.  On  his  way  back,  he  intended  to  stop  and  obtain  the  worn 
and  torn  Bible  that  had  been  offered  to  him  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  pias- 
ters ;  but  before  he  could  get  there  he  was  taken  sick,  and  he  soon  had  no 
money  with  which  to  buy  that  Bible,  and  so  he  went  home  to  his  native 
village.  After  reaching  home  he  went  to  see  a  neighbour,  who  had  a  large 
reference  Armenian  Bible,  published  by  this  Society.  When  the  owner  of  the 
BibleVas  asked  how  much  he  gave  for  it,  his  reply  was,  "  Forty  piasters;  that 


APPENDIX.  109 

a  colporteur  of  a  Bible  Society  had  sold  it  to  him,  and  that  he  would  be  along 
again  before  many  months."  (:Oh;"  said  the  man  who  had  been  to  Jerusalem, 
"they  asked  me  eight  hundred  piasters  for  one  not  half  so  good  as  this,  and 
this  is  in  a  language  that  I  can  understand."  He  took  out  his  tracts.  Eight 
or  ten  of  his  neighbours  came  together  to  read  these  tracts.  They  did  not  like 
the  spirit  of  them.  They  began  to  compare  them  with  what  they  found  in  the 
Bible.  The  result  was,  that  those  eight  or  ten  men  were  made  to  feel  that  it 
was  the  Word  of  God.  They  sent  a  deputation,  that  they  might  purchase  for 
eight  or  ten  men  as  many  Bibles  as  they  needed.  From  that  village  there  has 
gone  out  over  the  surrounding  villages  an  influence  in  favour  of  the  truth 
which  you  can  hardly  understand  here. 

This  man  was  the  founder  of  a  Bible  society,  the  like  of  which  is  not  to  be 
found  in  all  Turkey.  They  became  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  and  every 
Sunday  they  started  out,  two  and  two,  with  their  Bibles  in  their  hands,  to 
read  to  the  people  in  the  villages  near  by.  In  all  those  villages  we  have  found 
on  examination  that  there  are  a  large  number  of  Bible  readers. 

Let  me  now  take  you  to  the  region  of  Ararat.  I  have  long  tried  to  find 
some  person  who  would  go  as  a  colporteur  into  that  region.  During  the  last 
winter  we  found  two  men,  who  started  away  with  their  packages  of  Bibles  on 
their  backs.  In  some  of  the  villages  they  sold  seventeen  copies  of  the  Bible, 
where  no  one  would  have  supposed  that  they  could  sell  a  single  one.  They 
were  driven  out  of  one  of  these  villages,  one  cold  stormy  night,  because  they 
were  simply  Bible  colporteurs.  One  woman  so  far  relented  as  to  give  them  a 
little  rice.  After  they  had  finished  their  meals  she  found  out  that  they  were 
Protestant  Bible  sellers ;  she  then  took  the  spoon,  broke  it  and  threw  it 
into  the  fire,  saying  it  could  not  be  used  again,  because  it  had  been  used  by 
a  Protestant. 

A  glorious  work  is  being  done  in  Turkey.  Now,  shall  we,  or  shall  we  not 
have  a  wider  circulation  of  the  Bible  ?  It  is  for  you,  Mr.  President,  and  for 
the  Board  of  Managers  to  answer  this  question.  The  preparations  are  all 
made  for  the  work.  Will  you  sustain  your  Agent,  and  allow  him  to  have  all 
the  colporteurs  he  wants  ?     If  so,  I  shall  be  exceedingly  thankful. 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  P.  M'Ilvaine,  D.D., 
of  Ohio,  who  spoke  as  follows  : 

I  should  not  have  thought  of  such  a  thing  as  undertaking  to  say  a  single 
word  in  connexion  with  this  resolution,  seconding  the  motion,  had  it  not  been 
particularly  requested  of  me  (I  say  it  for  the  purpose  of  excusing  myself),  and 
the  request  laid  especially  upon  the  ground  that  in  the  year  1853.  when  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was  celebrating  its  jubilee,  I  was  one  with 
another  venerable  and  beloved  brother,  Dr.  Vermilye,  of  this  city,  who  were 
honoured  with  the  commission  of  this  Society  to  represent  it  at  that  jubilee. 

I  not  only  greet  those  who  have  been  sent  here  to  our  Jubilee  from  Eng- 
land, and  from  France,  and  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain,  but  I  thank  them 


110  APPENDIX. 

most  heartily,  in  the  name  of  this  great  Society,  for  the  cheering  words,  the 
affectionate  expressions  of  strong  desire  of  future  communion  and  increasing 
love  wherewith  they  have  come  to  vis.  Allusion  was  made  by  one  of  the  del- 
egates from  England  to  the  mother  society,  although  one  of  them  said  that  it 
was  perhaps  too  late  to  speak  of  this  Society  as  the  daughter.  Very  well ; 
when  questions  of  right  and  enterprise  come  together,  we  stand  together  as 
sisters  ;  but  when  questions  of  memory,  and  origin,  and  reverence,  come  before 
us,  then,  we  delight  to  take  the  place  of  the  daughter,  and  say  to  that  beloved 
and  venerated  society  of  England:  "Dear  mother,  dear  mother,  we  own  thy 
parentage ;  we  love  to  think  of  the  time  when  thou  wert  the  only  great 
national  institution  of  the  whole  earth,  and  when  thy  example  taught  us  our 
duty ;  and  we  love  to  feel,  and  we  always  have  loved  to  feel,  in  reverence  and 
thankfulness ;  and  we  shall  love  to  follow,  counting  and  knowing  it  to  be  a 
privilege  to  so  follow,  in  the  steps  of  that  venerated  parent  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  Nothing,  nothing,  American  brethren,  can  we  do  for  the  good  of  the 
world  so  much  as  that  we,  the  two  great  Protestant  nations  of  the  earth, 
should  stand  together  to  the  end  of  the  world  for  the  world's  work  and  salva- 
tion ;  and  no  other  instrumentality  can  be  devised  so  mighty,  or  so  certain  of 
its  result  to  that  great  end,  as  keeping  together  as  co-workers,  and  taking  a 
common  interest  in  the  circulating  of  our  common  Bible,  and  especially  in 
our  common  version.  I  trust  our  clear  brethren,  and  especially  those  from 
England,  will  go  back  and  tell  them,  that  just  as  Dr.  Vermilye  and  myself 
received  such  kind  greetings  at  their  jubilee,  so  they  received  the  strongest  and 
wannest  exhibitions  of  kindred  love  ;  and  I  trust  that  as  the  shuttle,  of  which 
I  spoke  while  in  England,  and  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  going  to  and 
fro,  weaving  more  and  more,  broader  and  broader,  and  stronger  and  stronger, 
the  golden  robe  of  our  Christian  union,  so  ever  hereafter,  not  merely  on  Jubilee 
occasions,  but  from  anniversary  to  anniversary,  that  work  of  love,  harmony, 
and  union,  may  go  forward.  But  to  change  the  figure  from  raiment  to  tele- 
graphing :  Between  the  two  great  Protestant  nations  of  the  earth,  down 
beneath  all  the  waters  of  strife,  there  lies  a  strong  cable  of  golden  love,  over 
which  travel  messages  of  kindness,  of  mutual  co-operation,  suggestion,  and 
incitement,  There  was  a  cable  that  the  art  of  man  laid  with  great  expense  of 
man's  means,  but  it  broke. 

The  theory  is  with  regard  to  any  thing  that  man  may  lay  down  in  the  deep, 
that  the  terrors  and  strife  of  the  ocean  may  still  interfere  with  the  communica- 
tion desired.  There  is,  however,  a  cable  laid  by  God,  down  so  deep  that  the 
art  and  malice  of  men  can  never  reach ;  so  perfect  that  nothing  can  ever  add 
to  it:  and  over  it  messages  of  love  will  be  continually  passing.  God  is  in  it; 
no  waves  of  human  discord  can  interrupt  it.  There  it  is,  the  strong  bond 
of  Christian  love  between  England  and  us. 

The  Bishop  here  narrated  at  much  length  the  incidents  of  the  first  Sabbath 
which  he  spent  in  England  in  1861,  when  the  excitement  over  "the  Trent 
affair"  had  just   begun  to  surge  over  that  country.     He  was  the  first  to  bring 


APPENDIX.  Ill 

the  tidings  that  "our  government  had  nothing  to  do  with  it."  In  three 
churches  which  he  visited  in  London  on  that  day,  the  object  of  every  sermon 
preached  and  of  many  prayers  offered  was  to  keep  down  excitement,  to  prevent 
war  or  any  conflict  between  the  two  great  nations.  In  the  Baptist  chapel  in 
which  Gen.  Ilavclock  was  formerly  a  worshipper,  and  where  Sir  Morton  Peto 
was  an  elder,  the  Bishop  made  his  way  to  the  pulpit  stairs  to  respond  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  preacher,  who  said  :  "  Pray  for  her  Majesty,  pray  for  the  lords 
and  commons  in  parliament,  pray  for  the  Queen's  cabinet,  pray  for  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  pray  for  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
pray  for  the  Cabinet,  pray  that  peace  may  be  kept,  pray  that  the  spirit  of  war 
may  be  kept  down  in  both  lands."  It  being  Communion  Sunday,  and  the 
ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  being  about  to  be  administered,  there  was  no 
room  for  the  American's  response. 

The  Bishop  then  proceeded  : 

In  conclusion,  there  was  not  a  pulpit  in  all  England  in  which  the  same 
sort  of  work  had  not  gone  on  in  earnest  efforts  to  keep  the  two  countries  in 
peace,  and  in  the  manifestation  of  kind  sentiment  towards  us,  except  in  one 
instance,  and  that  was  in  a  church  in  London,  where  the  congregation,  sup- 
posing that  the  minister  intended  to  say  something  of  a  contrary  kind,  made 
such  a  noise  that  he  had  to  stop ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  come  out  in  the 
"  Times"  the  next  day,  and  say  that  he  did  not  mean  to  utter  any  such  senti- 
ment. There  is  a  great  depth  of  Christian  love,  a  strong  feeling  of  attachment ; 
and  I  believe  that  when  these  winds  of  passions  shall  have  passed  away,  we 
shall  be  found  nearer  together  than  ever  before,  and  there  we  must  be  for  the 
good  of  the  whole  world. 

I  want  to  state  what  I  consider  to  be  the  testimony  of  this  meeting — what 
I  consider  to  be  the  testimony  of  every  great  meeting  like  this  for  the  circula- 
tion of  the  Scriptures.  The  two  great  battles  to  be  fought  are,  with  infidelity 
growing  under  the  name  of  rationalism  and  under  the  name  of  popery,  each 
growing  with  parallel  power  and  rapidity:  and  which  I  consider  this  Society 
can  successfully  combat  under  that  single  verse  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy  : 
"  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness ;  that  the  man  of  God 
may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works." 

Take  the  first,  that  all  Tcripture,  every  chapter,  every  verse,  is  given  by 
the  inspiration  of  God,  that  inspiration  which  God  can  only  give.  There  is 
our  testimony  against  the  whole  world  of  man's  philosophy  and  man's  skepti- 
cism. The  bare  fact  that  we  come  together  from  England  and  every  where 
and  are  standing  around  the  solitary  Volume,  and  sending  it  abroad  at  such 
expense  and  earnestness  to  the  end  of  the  world,  is  declaration  of  supernatural 
inspiration  and  influence.  It  is  utterly  impossible  that  that  zeal  should  exist. 
in  the  world,  and  especially  that  it  should  be  fruitful  of  any  such  results,  if  in 
our  own  estimation  we  took  up  with  any  thing  else  in  the  place  of  God's 
Inspired  Word  as  the  final  rule  of  faith  and  practice.     Let  it  be  in  any  sense 


112  APPENDIX. 

man's  work,  as  distinct  from  God's  Inspired  Word,  bringing  it  down  from  that 
high  level  of  God's  supremacy  and  sovereignty,  and  Bible  societies  dwindle 
away  to  nothing,  and  people  will  be  content  that  the  world  shall  be  without 
the  Bible.  Then  as  to  the  other  part  of  the  verse — that  it  is  "  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness ;  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works" — the 
sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures.  Let  that  which  is  the  great  bulwark  of  popery 
nominally — necessity  of  tradition,  the  necessity  of  the  word  of  the  Church  to 
supplement  the  Scriptures,  to  make  them  sufficient — be  the  sentiment  of  Chris- 
tendom and  Bible  societies,  and  the  zeal  to  circulate  the  single  Volume  without 
note  or  comment  is  at  an  end ;  because  we  shall  not  think  any  thing  of  the 
efficacy  of  that  Book's  circulation  until  we  gather  up  the  whole  load  of  the 
tradition  of  the  ages  and  send  them  together. 

Now,  then,  when  we  stand  with  such  zeal  to  circulate  that  simple  Book, 
we  say  it  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  or  we  would  not  care  any  thing  about 
sending  it.  If  it  is  such  as  that  the  man  of  God  can,  by  the  simple  blessing 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  teaching  of  that  Word,  thoroughly  furnish  and 
make  a  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus,  then  we  have  the  perfect  sufficiency  of  the 
Scriptures. 

Therefore  let  us  gather  together  our  testimony;  let  us  carry  it  away  as 
our  united  testimony  to  the  perfect  inspiration  and  the  perfect  sufficiency  of 
God's  Holy  Word.  Then  let  me  just  add  this:  we  want  something  after  all 
to  make  that  Word  of  God  sufficient.  Then  we  go  to  the  precincts  of  Geth- 
semane,  and  we  find  our  blessed  Lord  praying,  "  Sanctify  them  through  thy 
truth;  thy  word  is  truth."  Well,  then,  not  only  do  we  think  that  that  Word 
is  God's  great  instrumentality  for  the  sanctification  of  the  world,  but  that  He 
who  is  ever  living  at  the  right  hand  of  God  to  make  intercession  for  us  is 
interceding  for  the  efficacy  and  sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures,  of  the  entire  Word 
of  God ;  and  therefore,  when  we  go  abroad  with  the  circulation,  it  is  not  that 
we  rely  upon  that  Word  or  any  thing  that  we  put  with  it,  but  rely,  constantly 
looking  up  to  heaven,  and  thinking  of  the  intercession  of  the  Son  of  God  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father;  and  there  we  put  our  trust ;  such  is  our  hope.  It  is 
Jesus  beginning,  ending,  first  and  last,  our  dear  Saviour,  our  glorious  portion. 
In  his  strength  we  are  strong,  and  by  Him  the  Word  is  sufficient. 

Remarks  of  Bishop  Janes  : 

The  last  reverend  speaker  quoted  this  passage  of  Scripture,  "  That  the 
Scriptures  are  profitable  for  instruction;"  and  one  of  the  instructions  of  the 
Bible  is,  in  honour  to  prefer  one  another ;  and  I  shall  on  this  occasion  prefer 
that  the  succeeding  speaker  shall  have  your  time  and  attention.  I  have  too 
delicate  an  appreciation  of  what  is  due  to  those  who  are  to  follow,  on  such  an 
occasion,  to  encroach  on  their  time.  I  will  simply  move  the  resolution.  The 
resolution  will  commend  itself  to  your  hearty  spirit  and  practice  ;  and  I  am 
persuaded  that  this  is  the  best  service  I  can  render  to  the  Cause  which  has 


APPENDIX.  113 

brought  us  together  to-day.     The  light  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  read 
the  resolution. 

Resolution  read  by  Dr.  Taylor,  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That,  relying  upon  the  providence  and  grace  of  the  Almighty 
God,  this  Society  hereby  approves  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Managers  at  their  last  meeting,  to  undertake  without  delay  a  third  general 
supply  of  the  whole  country  with  the  Word  of  God — a  work  which  is  eminently 
befitting  us  as  an  acknowledgment  of  Divine  goodness  in  the  past,  and  a  proper 
beginning  of  our  second  half  century. 

Bishop  Janes  :  I  most  heartily  move  that  resolution,  and  yield  the  opportu- 
nity to  speak  to  a  man  whom  we  all  delight  to  honour,  both  for  his  Christian 
character  and  the  high  services  which  he  has  rendered  his  country. 

Remarks  of  Rev.  Dr.  Vermilye  : 

I  was  going  to  say  there  was  little  of  any  thing  Bishop  Janes  could  produce 
I  could  not  second  ;  that  is,  any  thing  outside  of  the  Five  Points  [of  theology]  ; 
but  I  think  that  this  resolution  is  eminently  befitting  this  public  occasion. 

The  American  Bible  Society  was  organized  after  the  war  of  1812,  and  took 
the  Word  of  God  in  hand,  and  rolled  its  peaceful  offices  along  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic;  and  now  at  the  close  of  another  war  you  are  required  to  take  this 
blessed  Word  in  your  hands  and  spread  it  faithfully  over  the  wild  prairies  of 
the  West,  that  were  scarcely  known  and  not  peopled  at  that  time,  and  down 
over  our  Southern  States,  to  rejuvenate  them  and  to  proclaim  to  them  all  a 
new  day  of  peace,  of  brotherly  love  and  Christian  sympathy,  of  holy  earnest- 
ness in  spreading  the  Word  of  our  blessed  Master,  not  only  over  this  cohtinent, 
but  to  the  utmost  ends  of  the  earth.  It  is  eminently  befitting  that  you  should 
realize  this  at  this  time,  and  crowd  yourselves  anew  to  the  work,  so  that 
before  another  fifty  years  have  rolled  away  there  may  be  a  blessed  record 
given  of  it,  not  only  in  this  land,  but  throughout  the  whole  world.  Go  faith- 
fully then,  sir,  to  this  work ;  take  that  blessed  Word  in  your  hand,  and  it 
will  do  more  to  reconstruct  these  sundered  States,  and  to  renew  this  society 
that  has  been  so  dislocated,  and  to  bring  back  the  very  spirit  of  brotherly 
love,  than  all  the  legislation  in  the  world.  It  is  your  work,  it  is  our  work, 
to  do  this  ;  and  therefore  I  second  this  resolution  with  all  my  heart.  It  is 
the  appropriate  resolution  on  this   Jubilee  occasion. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  Jubilee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  when  Bishop  Mllvaine  and  I  were  honoured  to  be  your  delegates  to 
speak  on  that  occasion  ;  and  now  we  have  representatives  here,  Englishmen, 
to  speak  on  this  occasion.  Do  you  suppose  that  Earl  Russell  has  had  any 
thing  to  do  with  this  delegation?  I  would  advise  Mr.  Seward  to  have  his 
eye  upon  it,  because  he  could  not,  if  he  had  sent  all  the  diplomats  in  Great 
Britain,  have  done  more  than  he  has  done  to  cheat  us  out  of  our  Christian 
wrath.     I  am  sure  there  is  some  diplomacy  in  this  ;   but,   Mr.  President,   I 

8 


114  APP,ENDIX. 

will  say  this,  in  the  spreading  of  that  Bible,  and  acting  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  mutual  respect  and  mutual  right,  may  these  two  Protestant  nations 
of  the  world  be  bound  henceforth  and  for  ever  in  the  bonds  of  amity ;  and, 
sir,  fulfilling  our  obligations  as  the  Protestant  nations  of  the  world,  may  we 
be  prepared  to  go  forth  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  spreading  the  blessed  light, 
and  truth,  and  principles  of  liberty,  and  the  everlasting  salvation,  and  the 
good  hope  through  Christ,  that  are  contained  in  this  Word  of  God,  until  it 
shall  bless  all  nations  that  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  This  is  my 
sentiment,  and  I  hope  our  brethren  will  bear  it  back  (I  think  it  is  the 
sentiment  of  this  whole  assembly,  as  I  know  it  is  of  the  Society)  to  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

Major-General  Howard,  U.  S.  Army,  moved  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  with  patriotic  and  Christian  interest  the  supply 
of  the  South  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  respect  of  race  or  colour,  and 
that  we  hail  with  satisfaction  the  increasing  spirit  of  co-operation  manifested 
by  the  friends  of  the  Bible  throughout  that  region  of  our  common  country. 

The  address  of  General  Howard  consisted  mainly  of  a  large  mass  of 
testimony  from  official  sources  respecting  the  condition  of  the  freedmen  of 
the  South.  The  great  length  of  this  production  compels  us  to  select  only 
those  passages  which  bore  immediately  upon  the  object  and  work  of  the 
American  Bible  Society. 

Commencing  with  a  graceful  allusion  to  his  military  position  during  the 
war,  and  his  being  called  to  "  bring  up  the  rear"  of  the  array  of  speakers  on 
this  occasion,  the  general  proceeded  : 

The  grand  object  of  this  honoured  Association,  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, is  the  extension  of  Christ's  earthly  kingdom  and  the  promotion  of 
true  religion.  It  is  found  altogether  practicable  in  the  furtherance  of  these 
objects  to  circulate  the  Holy  Scriptures,  sending  them  into  all  the  world, 
that  they  may  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 

Much  seed,  we  know,  falls  by  the  way  side  upon  hardened  ground,  where 
it  can  take  no  root;  much,  also,  upon  stony  soil,  where  no  fruit  comes  to 
maturity;  but  nevertheless  a  goodly  portion  does  fall  upon  good  ground,  and 
bears  fruit  varying  immeasurably  in  amount  according  to  the  locality  and 
the  preparation  of  the  soil. 

The  attention  of  the  Society  has  been,  of  late,  called  to  the  recent  slave 
States.  It  is  this  locality,  as  one  demanding  unusual  preparation  and  a 
careful  sowing  of  Bible  seed,  that  I  ask  this  Society  to  visit  and  most 
thoroughly  explore. 

Every  variety  of  circumstance  and  condition  that  pertains  to  mankind 
will  be  found  there — wealth,  culture,  taste,  elegance,  contentment,  comfort, 
competence,  scarcity,  poverty,  and  suffering  ;  every  grade  of  intellectual  devel- 
opement,  from  the  ripe  scholar  to  the  most  degraded  and  ignorant  of  human 
beings.     With  no  disposition  to  awaken  any  old  feelings  of  sectional  pride, 


APPENDIX.  115 

but  for  the  sake  of  the  remedy,  let  me  state  that  at  the  beginning  of  this  war 
upwards  of  six  hundred  thousand  white  adults  and  upwards  of  three  millions 
of  blacks  in  the  late  slave  Stales  could  neither  read  nor  write.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  all  these  people  are  without  Bibles  ;  on  the  contrary,  many  of  them 
were  preached  to  on  the  Sabbath,  many  heard  the  Scriptures  read,  and.  though 
necessarily  ignorant,  a  large  number  did  catch  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and 
exercise  a  simple  faith  and  practice  that  may  put  to  the  blush  those  of  us  who 
have  enjoyed  exalted  privileges  from  childhood. 

Yet,  with  all  this,  after  you  have  taken  a  few  model  plantations,  where 
the  master  and  mistress  believed  in  the  manhood  of  the  slave,  and  embraced 
all  the  religious  instructions  dealt  out  to  the  negroes — after  you  have  carcfulJy 
estimated  the  numbers  of  real  Christians  amongst  the  poor  and  despised 
whites,  you  cannot  but  feel  that  thousands  of  fields  are  still  rough  and  stony — 
that  much  soil  is  not  yet  broken  up  at  all,  or  prepared  for  a  promising  seed- 
time or  a  prospective  harvest. 

Then,  after  dwelling  upon  the  fact  that  slavery  has  ceased  throughout  the 
land,  he  gave  his  testimony  respecting  the  present  condition  of  the  freedmen, 
"  under  the  three  heads,  Labour,  Education,  Justice." 

We  give  the  principal  statements  respecting  education,  as  this  subject  is 
so  intimately  connected  with  that  of  the  circulation  of  the  Word  of  God 
among  the  freed  people  : 

My  school  inspector's  report  for  January  1st  of  this  year  makes  the  whole 
number  of  scholars  in  the  late  slave  States,  excepting  Delaware  and  including 
the  District  of  Columbia,  90.589;  teachers,  1,314;  schools,  740.  This  does 
not  include  the  regiments  of  coloured  soldiers,  all  of  which  were  more  or  less 
favoured  with  opportunities  for  learning  to  read  while  in  the  service.  One 
large  regiment  cams  to  my  knowledge  where  every  man  learned  to  read  and 
write. 

I  will  recite  what  the  same  inspector  says  of  schools  in  Mississippi,  as  a 
sample  of  the  condition  of  such  matters  in  the  South :  "  There  is  a  mixture 
of  good  and  evil  to  report  from  this  State.  Your  officers  are  indefatigable 
in  their  efforts.  There  are  many  good  schools  among  the  thirty-four  in  opera- 
tion. Some  of  them  have  made  admirable  progress,  and  a  number  not  in- 
cluded have  started  under  various  auspices  in  different  parts  of  the  State. 
There  is  every  where  the  usual  eagerness  to  learn.  But  in  some  sections 
inveterate  opposition  among  the  whites  is  manifested  towards  these  schools. 
Two  teachers,  at  the  time  I  was  there,  were  sent  to  one  of  the  large  towns 
twenty-five  miles  into  the  country,  where  there  was  no  military,  and  the 
next  morning  they  were  ordered  off,  and  threatened  if  they  did  not  go.  This 
opposition  is  often  openly  avowed,  but  more  generally  is  tacit  and  concealed, 
making  itself  felt  every  where  in  a  sort  of  combination  not  to  allow  the  freed- 
men any  place  in  which  a  school  may  be  taught."  A  superintendent  in  an 
interior  town  says,  "  The  opposition  to  negro  education  is  very  great  in  my 
town    and   neighbourhood."      Coloured   men,    in   some   instances,  have   paid 


116  APPENDIX. 

their  own  money  to  prepare  and  furnish  a  room  for  a  school,  and  then  have 
been  forbidden  to  use  it,  the  white  people  taking  it  from  them  for  their  own 
children.  Similiar  things  are  true  of  other  States,  though  in  Mississippi  such 
opposition  has  seemed  to  be  more  common  than  elsewhere  ;  and  yet  there 
are  redeeming  features.  Instances  of  planters  have  come  to  our  knowledge 
who  are  desirous  of  employing  teachers  for  the  freed  people.  One  of  your 
officers  states  that  "many  planters  are  beginning  to  perceive  that  schools 
for  the  children  would  be  an  inducement  for  labourers  to  engage  with  them." 
General  opposition  is  undoubtedly  decreasing.  We  notice  expressions  of 
hope  from  those  who  are  labouring  in  the  State,  and  it  is  clear  that  a 
steady  system  of  effort  cannot  be  resisted;  as  I  told  one  of  the  planters, 
"They  would  find  it  harder  fighting  the  alphabet  and  spelling-book  than 
they  did  Grant  and   Sherman."     He  made  no  reply. 

There  are  now  sixty-eight  teachers  in  the  State,  thirty-four  schools,  and 
4,310  enrolled  pupils.  More  than  half  of  these  are  considerably  advanced 
in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 

In  the  department  of  Washington  there  are  sixty-three  freedmen's  school?, 
and  upwards  of  6,000  pupils.  Some  5.000  of  these  are  good  readers,  learn- 
ing also  grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  sometimes  higher  branches; 
2,304  are  learning  to  write  ;  825  are  still  in  the  alphabet.  Besides  these 
there  are  sixteen  night  schools  and  a  large  number  of  Sabbath  schools. 

A  number  of  industrial  schools  have  been  started,  one  of  which  made 
during  the  last  month  162  garments;  another,   100  articles  of  clothing. 

With  regard  to  the  schools  of  the  district,  the  superintendent  says,  "  All 
the  teachers  seem  to  be  earnest  and  hopeful."  One  writes:  "I  find  the 
children  are  very  much  like  white  ones — some  stupid  and  others  bright. 
They  are  now  rather  more  eager  for  learning,  because  it  has  been  fruit  for- 
bidden to  them."  The  inspector  adds  further,  that  there  are  large  numbers 
attending  some  sort  of  schools  of  a  voluntary  or  self-supporting  character 
that  arc  not  reported.  Throughout  the  entire  South  an  effort  is  being 
made  by  the  coloured  people  to  educate  themselves.  In  the  absence  of 
other  teaching,  they  are  determined  to  be  self-taught,  and  every  where  some 
elementary  text-book  or  the  fragment  of  one  may  be  seen  in  the  hands  of 
negroes.  They  quickly  communicate  to  each  other,  so  that  with  very  little 
learning  many  take  to  teaching. 

A  willingness,  even  an  ambition,  to  bear  expenses  is  also  noticed.  They 
often  say,  "  We  want  to  show  how  much  we  can  do  ourselves,  if  you  will  only 
give  us  a  chance." 

This  may  seem  an  overstatement  to  these  who  doubt  the  character  of 
the  negro;  not  that  they  are  ungrateful  or  unwilling  to  be  helped,  but  so 
universal  is  the  feeling  I  am  describing,  that  it  seems  as  if  some  unseen 
influence  was  inspiring  them  to  that  intelligence  which  they  now  so  im- 
mediately need.  Not  only  are  individuals  seen  at  study,  and  under  the 
most  untoward  circumstances,  but  in  very  many  places  I  found  what  I  may 


APPENDIX.  117 

call  native  schools;  often  rude  and  very  imperfect,  but  there  they  are,  a 
group  perhaps  of  all  ages,  trying  to  learn.  Some  young  man,  some  woman, 
or  old  preacher,  in  cellar,  or  shed,  or  corner  of  a  negro  meeting-house,  with 
the  alphabet  in  hand  or  a  torn  spelling  book,  is  their  teacher.  All  are  full 
of  enthusiasm  with  the  new  knowledge  the  book  is  imparting  to  them. 

All  the  statistics  of  this  inspector's  report  are  corroborated  by  the  differ- 
ent assistant  commissioners  and  agents  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  The 
educational  advantages  are  not  confined  to  the  frcedmen ;  schools  for  the 
poor  whites  have  been  established,  though  as  yet  there  is  not  a  very  large 
number. 

The  foregoing  views  are  hopeful,  sanguine  ;  but  the  number  of  teachers 
must  be  multiplied  by  twenty,  and  the  school  advantages  proportionably 
increased. 

The  question  constantly  occurs,  Can  this  be  done  against  the  prejudices 
of  the  white  people  ?  We  need  not  stop  to  ask.  What  joy  would  have 
thrilled  through  our  churches,  if  at  any  time,  in  a  single  year,  such  immense 
progress  could  have  been  recorded  in  any  missionary  field  abroad.  How 
gladly  they  would  have  put  a  Bible  or  Testament  into  the  hands  of  every 
new  scholar  who  had  become  able  and  willing  to  read  ! 

The  general  concluded  thus : 

During  our  encampment  beneath  the  celebrated  Lookout  Mountain, 
where  General  Hooker  wreathed  his  brow  with  fresh  laurels,  we  had  op- 
portunity to  become  familiar  with  the  state  of  society  in  that  region  of 
country,  where  all  the  men  remaining  at  home  were  poor  whites.  Just 
opposite  my  headquarters  was  a  log  cabin  containing  two  rooms.  At  first 
it  was  occupied  by  a  poor  woman  with  five  or  six  children.  She  was  half 
ill,  unhappy,  discouraged,  without  learning.  Her  husband  was  absent  in  the 
rebel  army.  The  cabin  was  falling  in,  crevices  were  open  through  the 
sides,  and  nothing  about  the  premises  indicated  the  first  particle  of  comfort 
or  of  cheer.  The  husband  finally  came  home,  thoroughly  broken  down  by 
his  hard  campaigning.  He  had  some  little  knowledge,  wished  to  do  right, 
did  not  believe  in  the  war;  but  his  future  was  completely  dark,  and  he 
added  another  burden  to  an  already  desolate  and  overburdened  household. 
His  children  were  shrewd,  quick  to  catch  new  thoughts,  but  their  minds 
were  undeveloped.  This  picture  is  a  true  one  of  hundreds  of  others  in  that 
region.  We  established  a  Sunday  school ;  old  and  young  came  to  it,  and 
a  fountain  of  joy,  and  comfort,  and  hope  was  found  in  the  Bible,  and  Bible 
truths  conveyed  to  these  poor  people  by  the  army  chaplain,  the  Christian 
Commission  agents,  and  Christian  soldiers.  Frequently  an  old  man  of  sev- 
enty years  crept  down  the  winding  path  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  range 
between  us  and  the  river,  and  begged  some  return  for  the  corn  our  soldiers 
had  taken  from  him.  He  loved  the  country,  he  loved  the  flag,  he  loved  the 
Saviour ;   he  made  no  complaint,  but  was  grateful   for  the  food  that  God 


118  APPENDIX. 

gave  him  in  payment  for  his  toilsome  journey,  and  for  the  medicines  he 
could  take  to  his  poor,  sick  wife.  I  visited  his  home.  No  country  can  fur- 
nish a  rougher  dwelling  place.  It  would  have  been  hard  for  him  to  find 
soil  enough  to  plant  his  corn  had  it  not  been  taken  from  him.  Oh,  the 
desolation  of  that  house  !  His  wife  was  a  much  younger  woman  than  him- 
self, but  her  health  was  gone.  he  was  lying  on  a  sort  of  couch,  that 
answered  the  name  of  bed  ;  her  face  was  turned  away  from  the  door  •  she 
was  so  still,  her  hand  and  cheek  seemed  so  livid,  that  at  first  I  thought  she 
was  dead.  This  bed.  with  perhaps  two  broken  chairs,  constituted  all  the 
furniture.  The  old  man  sat  quietly  in  the  doorway,  and  greeted  me  joy- 
ously. He  had  a  part  of  a  Bible.  He  could  not  read  much  himself,  but 
managed  to  study  out  a  few  of  the  precious  truths.  His  wife  aroused  her- 
self from  her  apparent  lethargy,  and  talked  to  me  of  Christ,  and  showed  me 
how  some  faithful  messenger  of  the  Lord  had  found  her  and  opened  to  her 
the  wellspring  of  eternal  life.  Talk  of  hate  of  the  negroes  !  It  was  not 
there  in  all  that  region.     At  least  I  did  not  discover  it. 

Their  mountains  are  rich  in  minerals  ;  their  valleys  will  one  day  be  filled 
with  grain,  and  fruits,  and  flowers.  That  river,  the  beautiful,  graceful, 
winding  Tennessee,  will  one  day  be  freighted  with  precious  ores  and  rich 
products  of  the  soil.  The  railroad  which  runs  over  the  top  of  the  mountains 
and  curves  backwards  and  forwards  through  their  deep  valleys  and  gorges, 
and  which,  in  war,  could  supply  daily  two  hundred  thousand  men,  when 
it  was  infested  by  guerrillas,  when  train  after  train  was  obstructed,  thrown 
off  embankments,  broken  up,  burned  up,  or  otherwise  molested ;  when  the 
track  was  often  torn  up,  sometimes  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  extent,  the 
ties  consumed  and  the  iron  twisted  or  bent  double — that  same  railroad 
will  one  day  joyously  supply  a  teeming,  thriving,  prosperous  people.  It 
will  be  when  every  vestige  of  slavery  shall  have  disappeared,  and  when 
the  loyalty  of  the  North  and  West  shall  be  firmly  linked  to  that  of  East 
Tennessee  ;  linked  together  in  the  pursuit  of  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical 
wealth,  vastly  strengthened  by  the  true  linking,  which  is  the  Bible  and  the 
diffusion  of  such  Bible  truths  as  that  "  love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour," 
that  "  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  It  will  be  when  the  Christian  can 
open  his  heart  to  the  full  sunlight,  that  his  heart  may  expand  above, 
below,  around,  till  he  can  like  Christ,  his  Master,  love  man  as  man,  and 
be  willing  to  protect  and  bless  him,  whether  he  lives  in  the  valley  or  on 
the  mountain  top,  whether  he  be  wise  or  unwise,  whether  he  be  black  or 
white. 

Prejudice,  passion,  falsehood,  malignancy,  and  hate,  do  commingle  in  the 
human  soul  like  a  sea,  turbulent  and  seething  with  a  fearful  power  of  fiend- 
ish life.  Thus  evil  spirits  must  be  allayed ;  nay,  they  must  be  expelled. 
It  can  be  done  only  by  the  spread  of  Gospel  truth.  This  truth  will  change 
the  face  of  things  completely  in  the  Southern  States.  The  proud  will  be 
brought   low,  the  poor  whites  will    be  raised  up,  the  load  of  ignorance  and 


APPENDIX.  119 

superstition    will   be   lifted   from  them    and  also  from   the  negroes,  and  real 
peace  will  follow,  will  be  pure,  and  will  prevail. 

Rev.  Dit.  Jonas  King,  of  Athens,  Greece,  seconded  the  resolution,  and 
said : 

All  honour  to  such  a  noble  and  splendid  general.  As  for  me,  I  am 
simply  a  soldier.  I  have  been  a  soldier  for  nearly  fifty  years.  I  have 
been  in  some  battles,  and  fought  in  Egypt  near  the  pyramids,  and  in 
Palestine  and  Asia  Minor.  I  was  once  a  missionary  in  South  Carolina 
and  know  something  of  the  blacks.  I  have  had  a  chance  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  influence  of  the  Word  of  God,  not  only  among  the  poor  slaves, 
but  also  in  the  palaces  of  the  kings  of  Europe.  To  say  that  it  is  a  happy 
influence  is  to  say  what  every  one  must  know  to  be  true.  I  consider  that 
the  Bible  is  the  centre  of  the  moral  world,  as  the  sun  is  the  centre  of 
the  natural  world.  The  missionary  societies  are  as  the  moons,  and  the 
tract  societies  as  the  stars,  of  this  grand  and  moral  universe.  The  Queen 
of  England  was  once  asked  by  some  African  prince,  to  what  England  owes 
her  greatness  and  prosperity.  In  answer  she  showed  him  the  Bible.  The 
longer  I  observe  its  influence,  the  more  thoroughly  am  I  convinced  of  the 
importance  of  the  Bible.  It  is  enough  ;  it  is  sufficient.  Let  us  then  do  all 
that  can  be  done  to  put  a  Bible  in  the  hands  of  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  whole  world. 

The  Rev.  Mark  Hopkins,  D.D.,  of  Mass.,  pronounced  the  benediction, 
and  the  Society  adjourned. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


President. 
JAMES  LENOX,  Esq  ,  New  York. 


Vice  Presidents. 

HON.  HEMAN  LINCOLN,  Massachusetts. 

JOAQUIN  MOSQUERA,  New  Granada. 
THOMAS  COCK,  M.D.,  New  York. 
HON    PETER  D.  VROOM,  New  Jersey. 
JOHN  TAPPAN,  Esq.,  Massachusetts. 
GEN.  JOHN  H.  COCKE,  Virginia. 
ARISTARCHUS  CHAMPION,  Esq  ,  New  York. 
HON.  ALLEN  TRIMBLE,  Ohio. 
FREEBORN  GARRETSON,  Esq.,  New  York. 
HON.  W.  W.   I  '      SWORTH,  Connecticut. 
"        EDWARD  M'GEHEE,  Mississippi. 

A.  B.  HASBROUCK,  New  York. 

R.  H.      ALWOR  TH,  New  York. 
FRANCIS  HALL,  Esq.,  New  York. 
MYRON  PHELPS,  Esq  ,  Illinois. 
JAMES  A.  MAYBIN,  Esq.,  Louisiana, 
li    N.  DAVID  L.  SWAIN,  North  Carolina. 

JOSEPH  H.  LUMPKIN,  Georgia. 

JOSEPH  A.  WRIGHT,  Indiana. 
"        JACOB  SLEEPER,  Massachusetts. 
FREDERICK  T.  FRELINGHUVSEN,  Esq  ,  New  Jersey. 
WILLIAM  WHITLOCK,  JR..  Esq,,  New  York. 
HON.  ROBERT  C  WINTHROP,  Massachusetts. 

WILLIAM  A.  BUCKINGHAM,  Connecticut. 

SALMON  P.  CHASE,  Ohio. 
NORMAN  WHITE,  Esq.,  New  York. 
FREDERICK  S.  WINSTON,  Esq.,  New  York. 
GEN.  WILLIAM  WILLIAMS,  Connecticut. 
HON.  GRANT  GOODRICH,  Illinois. 
JAMES  SUYDAM,  Esq.,  New  York. 
GEORGE  H.  STUART,  Esq.,  Pennsylvania. 


Secretaries. 

.  JOSEPH  HOLDICH,  D.D 
WM.  J.  R   TAYLOR,  D  D. 
T.  RALSTON  SMITH. 


Treasurer. 

WILLIAM  WHITLOCK,  Jr. 


Assistant  Treasurer. 

HENRY  FISHER. 


General  Agent. 

CALEB  T.  ROWE. 


MANAGERS. 


■ 

First  Class. 

Third  Class. 

term— 1866  to  1870. 

term-1864  to  1868. 

FREDERICK  T.  PEET. 

RALPH  MEAD. 

ISAAC  WOOD.  3V1.D. 

JAMES  W.  DOMINICK. 

CORNELIUS  DU  BOIS. 

ARCHIBALD  RUSSELL. 

WASHINGTON  R.  VERMILYE. 

FREDERICK  H.  WOLCOTT. 

E.  J.  WOOLSEY.', 

WILLIAM  E.  DODGE. 

ROBERT  CARTER. 

HENRY  J.  BAKER. 

MARSHALL  S.  BIDWELL. 

WILLIAM  H.  CROSBY. 

CHANDLER  STARR. 

NATHAN  BISHOP. 

RICHARD  P.  BUCK. 

HENRY  DICKINSON. 

Second  Class. 

Fourth   Class. 

term— 1865  to  1869. 

term— 1863  to  1867. 

RICHARD  T.  HAINES. 

JAMES  L.  PHELPS.  M.D. 

JAMES  DONALDSON. 

GEORGE  D.  PHELPS. 

CHARLES  N    TALBOT. 

CHARLES  TRACY. 

A.  P.  CUMINGS. 

G.  P.  DISOSWAY. 

WM.  H.  ASPINWALL. 

A    ROBERTSON  WALSH. 

JOHN  DAVID  WOLFE. 

ALFRED  EDWARDS. 

SCHUREMAN  HALSTED. 

ALEXANDER  VAN  RENSSELAER. 

E    L.  FANCHER. 

JONATHAN  STEROLS. 

WM.  G.  LAMBERT. 

HIRAM   M.  FORRESTER. 

STANDING  COMMITTEES 


AMERICAN  BIBLE    SOCIETY,   FIFTY-FIRST   YEAR. 


Versions. 

REV.  JOHN  N.  M'LEOD,  D.D.,  New  York. 

REV.  HENRY  B.  SMITH,  D.D,     " 

REV.  WM.  H.  CAMPBELL,  D.D.,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

REV.  HENRY  I.  SCHMIDT,  D.D.,  New  York. 

REV.  WILLIAM  R.  WILLIAMS,  D.D.,    " 

REV.  THEODORE  D.  WOOLSEY,  LLD,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

REV.  WM.  G.  T.  SHEDD,  D.D.,  New  York. 

REV.  ARCHIBALD  FOSS,  New  York. 

REV.  ALEXANDER  H.  VINTON,  D.D.,  New  York. 


Finance. 

FREDERICK  S.  WINSTON. 
NORMAN  WHITE. 
A.  P.  CUMINGS. 
W.  R.  VERMILYE. 
WM.  G.  LAMBERT. 
WM.  H.  CROSBY. 
HIRAM  M.  FORRESTER. 

Publication. 

FRANCIS  HALL. 
FREDERICK  T.  PEET. 
RALPH  MEAD. 
A.  ROBERTSON  WALSH. 
RIBERT  CARTER. 
CHARLES  N.  TALBOT. 
ALFRED  EDWARDS. 

Distribution. 

REV.  ISAAC  FERRIS,  D.D. 

JAMES  L.  PHELPS,  M.D. 

FREDERICK  H.  WOLCOTT 

MARSHALL  S.  BIDVVELL. 

REV.  JOHN  COTTON  SMITH.  D.D. 

REV.  CHAS.  F.  E.  STOHLMANN,  D.D. 

REV.  WILLIAM  ROBERTS,  D  D. 

Agencies. 

REV.  THOMAS  DE  WITT,  D.D. 
REV.  JOHN  M.  KREBS,  D  D. 
JAMES  W.  DOMINICK. 
REV.  WILLIAM  R.  TOMPKINS. 
REV.  THOMAS  S.  HASTINGS. 
NATHAN  BISHOP,  LLD. 
REV.  ALBERT  S.  HUNT. 


Legacies. 

CHARLES  TRACY. 

ISAAC  WOOD,   M  D. 

JAMES  SUYDAM. 

ALEXANDER  VAN  RENSSELAER. 

WM.  H.  ASPINWALL. 

HENRY  DICKINSON. 

SCHUREMAN  HALSTED. 


Nomination. 

JAMES  SUYDAM. 

NORMAN  WHITE. 

ISAAC  WOOD,  M.D. 

E.  L.  FANCHER. 

RICHARD  P.  BUCK. 

REV.  HENRY  E.  MONTGOMERY,  D.D. 

CHARLES  N.  TALBOT. 


Anniversaries. 

REV.  EDMUND  S.  JANES,  D  D. 

REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  D.D. 

REV.  M.  S.  HUTTON,  D.D. 

REV.  W.  I.  BUDINGTON,  D.D. 

REV.  ALEXANDER  H.  VINTON,  D.D. 

REV.  N.  L.  RICE,  D.D. 

REV.  PHILIP  SCHAFF,  D.D. 


Auditing  Committee. 

FREDERICK  T.  PEET. 
RICHARD  T.  HAINES. 
SCHUREMAN  HALSTED. 


CONSTITUTION 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 


ARTICLE   I. 

This  Society  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY,  of  which  the  sole 
object  shall  be  to  encourage  a  wider  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  note  or  comment. 
The  only  copies  in  the  English  language,  to  be  circulated  by  the  Society,  shall  be  of  the  version  now  in 
common  use. 

ARTICLE  II. 
This  Society  shall  add  its  endeavours  to  those  employed  by  other  societies,  for  circulating  the  Scrip- 
tures throughout  the  United  States  and  their  Territories;   and  shall  furnish  them  with  stereotype 
plates,  or  such  other  assistance  as  circumstances  may  require.    This  Society  shall  also,  according  to 
its  ability,  extend  its  influence  to  other  countries,  whether  Christian,  Mohammedan,  or  Pagan. 

ARTICLE   III. 

All  Bible  Societies  shall  be  allowed  to  purchase,  at  cost,  from  this  Society,  Bibles  for  distribution 
within  their  own  districts  ;  and  the  officers  of  all  such  Bible  Societies  as  shall  hereafter  agree  to  place 
their  surplus  revenue,  after  supplying  their  own  districts  with  the  Bible,  at  the  disposal  of  this  Society, 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  all  meetings  of  the  Society. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Each  subscriber  of  three  dollars  annually  shall  be  a  member. 

ARTICLE  V. 

Each  subscriber  of  thirty  dollars  at  one  time  shall  be  a  member  for  life. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

Each  subscriber  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  at  one  time,  or  who  shall,  by  one  additional  pay- 
ment, increase  his  original  subscription  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  shall  be  a  director  for  life. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

Directors  shall  be  entitled  to  attend  and  vote  at  all  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 

'ARTICLE  vni. 

A  Board  of  Managers  shall  be  appointed  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  Society,  consisting  of  thirty- 
six  laymen,  of  whom  twenty-four  shall  reside  in  the  city  of  New  York  or  its  vicinity.  One  fourth  part 
of  the  whole  number  shall  go  out  of  office  at  the  expiration  of  each  year,  but  shall  be  re-eligible. 

Every  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  who  is  a  member  for  life  of  the  Society,  shall  be  entitled  to  meet  and 
vote  with  the  Board  of  Managers,  and  be  possessed  of  the  same  powers  as  a  Manager  himself. 

The  Managers  shall  appoint  all  officers,  and  call  special  general  meetings,  and  fill  such  vacancies  as 
may  occur,  by  death  or  otherwise,  in  their  own  Board. 

ARTICLE  IX. 
Each  member  of  the  Society  shall  be  entitled,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  to  pur- 
chase Bibles  and  Testaments  at  the  Society's  prices,  which  shall  be  as  low  as  possible. 

ARTICLE  X. 
The  annual  meetings  of  the  Society  shall  be  held  at  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  at  the  option  of  the 
Society,  on  the  second  Thursday  of  May,  in  each  year;  when  the  Managers  shall  be  chosen,  the  ac- 
counts presented,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  foregoing  year  reported. 

ARTICLE   XI. 

The  President,  Vice  Presidents,  Secretaries,  Treasurer,  Assistant  Treasurer,  and  General  Agent,  for 
the  time  being,  shall  be  considered,  ex  officio,  members  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 


124  APPENDIX. 

ARTICLE   XII. 

At  the  general  meetings  of  the  Society,  and  the  meetings  of  the  Managers,  the  President,  or,  in  his 
absence,  the  Vice  President  first  on  the  list  then  present,  and  in  the  absence  of  all  the  Vice  Presidents, 
such  member  as  shall  be  appointed  for  that  purpose,  shall  preside  at  the  meeting. 

ARTICLE   XIII. 

The  Managers  shall  meet  on  the  first  Thursday  in  each  month,  or  oftener  if  necessary,  at  such  place 
in  the  city  of  New  York  as  they  shall  from  time  to  time  adjourn  to. 

ARTICLE   XIV. 

The  Managers  shall  have  the  power  of  appointing  such  persons  as  have  rendered  essential  services 
to  the  Society,  either  members  for  life,  or  directors  for  life. 

ARTICLE   XV. 

The  whole  minutes  of  every  meeting  shall  be  signed  by  the  Chairman. 

ARTICLE   XVI. 

No  alteration  shall  be  made  in  this  Constitution,  except  by  the  Society  at  an  annual  meeting,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 

ARTICLE   XVII. 

The  President,  or,  in  his  absence,  the  Vice  President  first  on  the  list  in  the  city  of  New  York,  may, 
and  on  the  written  request  of  six  members  of  the  Board,  shall  call  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  giving  three  days'  notice  of  such  meeting,  and  of  its  object. 

ARTICLE  XVIII. 
The  Board  of  Managers  may  admit  to  the  privileges  of  an  Auxiliary  any  society  which  was  organized, 
and  had  commenced  the  printing,  publication,  and  issuing  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  before  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  Society,  with  such  relaxation  of  the  terms  of  admission  heretofore  prescribed,  as  the 
said  Board,  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  consenting,  may  think  proper. 


Notices  to  Auxiliaries. 

The  American  Bible  Society  is  now  in  a  situation  to  furnish  all  their  Auxiliaries,  and  other  Bible 
Societies,  with  any  quantity  of  well  printed  and  well  bound  Bibles  and  Testaments  at  the  shortest 
notice. 

Auxiliaries  are  requested  to  be  very  particular  in  sending  their  Annual  Reports,  names  of  Officers, 
etc.,  etc. 

Whenever  a  new  society  is  organized,  notice  of  the  event  should  be  given  immediately  to  the  Parent 
Society,  so  that  it  may  be  recognised.  The  names  of  its  officers  and  their  post-office  addresses  should 
also  be  given. 

***  Particular  care  should  be  taken  to  send  the  information  requisite  to  their  being  recognised  ; 
for  which  see  the  cover  of  Annual  Report,  heal,  "  New  Auxiliary  Societies." 


Correspondence,  etc. 

Pecuniary  Remittances,  and  letters  in  relation  to  the  accounts  of  Agents,  Auxiliary  and  other 
Societies  and  persons,  and  legacies,  should  be  addressed  to  Henry  Fisher,  Assistant  Treasurer,  Bible 
House,  Astor  Place,  New  York. 


Letters  relating  to  Travelling  Agencies,  to  Delegations  for  Auxiliary  Anniversaries,  and  inquiries 
as  to  the  mode  of  raising  funds,  requests  for  donations  of  books,  inquiries  as  to  the  general  policy  of  the 
Society,  notice  of  new  Auxiliaries  formed,  reports  of  those  already  recognised,  and  communications  for 
the  Record,  should  be  directed  to  "Secretaries  of  the  American  Bible  Society,"  Bible  House,  Astor 
Place,  New  York. 

Orders  for  Books,  and  letters  in  relation  to  the  transmission  of  Reports  and  Records,  should 
be  directed  to  Caleb  T.  Rowe,  General  Agent,  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York. 

The  Board  of  Managers  beg  leave  to  state  that  it  is  very  desirable  that  orders  for  books  should  be 
accompanied  WITH  PAYMENT,  it  being  understood  that  the  moneys  are  usually  collected  by  socie- 
ties previous  to  their  purchasing  books.  Such  is  the  demand  upon  the  Depository,  that  long  credits 
prevent  the  Parent  Institution  from  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  DISCOUNT  allowed  for  prompt  pay- 
ment in  the  purchase  of  PAPER  and  other  materials. 


n  Theological  Seminar. [Libraries 


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